Coast Guard bill backers fault opposition claims
The Provisional Committee of the proposed Nigerian Coast Guard (PC-NCG) has alleged that vested interests are deliberately seeking to retain control of Nigeria’s maritime sector at the expense of transparency and national interest.
In a statement issued on Monday, the Director of Communications and Public Affairs, Dr Piriye Kiyaramo, quoted the Chief Executive and Accounting Officer of PC-NCG, Capt. Noah Ichaba, as saying that arguments against the creation of the Nigerian Coast Guard contradict verifiable operational realities.
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Etim Ekpimah
The Provisional Committee of the proposed Nigerian Coast Guard (PC-NCG) has alleged that vested interests are deliberately seeking to retain control of Nigeria’s maritime sector at the expense of transparency and national interest.
In a statement issued on Monday, the Director of Communications and Public Affairs, Dr Piriye Kiyaramo, quoted the Chief Executive and Accounting Officer of PC-NCG, Capt. Noah Ichaba, as saying that arguments against the creation of the Nigerian Coast Guard contradict verifiable operational realities.
Ichaba said: “What is often presented as a legal impossibility is, in reality, a question of political feasibility and executive cooperation, which the bill does not lack. The Nigerian Coast Guard Bill is not a private bill in the true legislative sense; it is a public national security bill whose subject matter transcends individual or sectional interests.”
He explained that the bill’s classification as a private member’s bill relates only to its sponsorship, not to its substance, scope or constitutional relevance.
“For better maritime governance, it is a national imperative, not a private initiative,” he said.
Citing the findings and recommendations of Senior Executive Course 47 (2025) of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Ichaba stated that the absence of a Coast Guard agency represents a critical institutional gap that must be addressed urgently.
“The continued absence of a Coast Guard would render any claim to maritime security indefensible and contrary to Nigeria’s maritime interests. This is especially so, given that the Federal Government has established the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy and formulated a national policy on marine and blue economy,” he stated.
PC-NCG called on relevant authorities, stakeholders and the general public to consider the findings in pursuit of sound policy decisions. It urged the rejection of self-serving claims inconsistent with administrative, legislative, legal and traditional practices in order to strengthen national maritime safety, security and environmental protection.
“PC-NCG has conducted a comprehensive analysis of all arguments against the creation of the proposed agency and found that they are largely based on misconceptions about what the Coast Guard is and what it does,” the statement added.
The Facilitation Committee maintained that continued opposition runs contrary to Nigeria’s maritime advancement, national honour and global reputation. It called for an objective appraisal of the evidence-based reasons why resistance to the bill should cease.
“This action is intended to end the recurring pattern of coordinated bad-faith resistance that has consistently impeded the establishment of the Nigerian Coast Guard whenever the enabling bill is introduced,” it said.
PC-NCG also called for immediate and decisive action to remove obstacles delaying the establishment of the agency. It clarified that no constitutional provision prevents a private member’s bill from addressing matters of national interest, stressing that legislative validity depends on passage and presidential assent, not on sponsorship.
