The proposed bill on the establishment of the Coast Guard of Nigeria will cause confusion, waste resources, and scuttle the legislative process in the National Assembly, the Nigerian Merchant Navy Coast Guard Security and Safety Corps has said.
It was also contended that sponsoring such a bill before the legislature amounted to a duplication of efforts and a waste of time to engage in other beneficial issues capable of fostering the socioeconomic growth of the nation.
This is contained in a correspondence forwarded to the journalists in Abuja on Wednesday by the Nigerian Merchant Navy Coast Guard Security and Safety Corps.
According to the letter signed by Captain O.E. Adeniran (rtd), on behalf of the corps, which was forwarded to the Nigerian Tribune, “we want to bring to your attention an issue of significant concern regarding the duplication of our bill currently under consideration for third reading in both the Senate and the House of Representatives.”
The letter was copied by the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, Speaker House of Representatives, Honourable Tajudeen Abbas, chairman, Senate Committee on Marine Transport, Senator Wasiu Eshinlokun, Senator Kamorudeen Olalere Oyewumi, Transport, and Chief Executive Officer of Marine Transport and National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), Mr. Bola Oyebanji.
It reads: “It has come to our attention that certain bills with the same aim and purpose as ours, bearing the name “Coast Guard,” have been introduced for consideration in both houses.
We strongly believe that this duplication of bills can lead to confusion and unnecessary redundancy in the legislative process.
“The Nigerian Merchant Navy Coast Guard Security and Safety Corps is a well-established institution with registration number NG/TM/O/2022/86868 with a mission to safeguard our coastlines and protect the nation’s maritime interests.
We have worked diligently to develop a comprehensive bill that addresses the specific needs and challenges faced by our organisation.
“This bill is currently awaiting a third reading in both chambers, and we believe it provides an effective framework to enhance security and safety measures in our maritime domain.
“As advocates for efficient governance and legislation, we kindly request your attention to this matter. We encourage you, as esteemed lawmakers, to avoid the introduction of bills duplicating the purposes and intents of ongoing legislative processes. Such duplication can lead to unnecessary delays, confusion, and inefficiency within the lawmaking process.
“We humbly urge the Senate and the House of Representatives to take the necessary steps to ensure that any bill related to the establishment of a Coast Guard or similar maritime security and safety agency is aligned with the ongoing legislative process concerning the bill initiated by the Nigerian Merchant Navy Coast Guard Security and Safety Corps.
“Nigerian Merchant Navy Coast Guard Security and Safety Corps is not a proscribed organisation, as our name is not among the list of proscribed organisations in the 2013 Gazette.
If we have been proscribed, our bill will never pass a second reading in the National Assembly, and any bill coming up with the same name, “Coast Guard,” is a duplication of our bill, and this is the bitter truth, “the letter concluded.
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