SENATE HITS THE BRAKES: Akpabio Suspends Nigeria Coast Guard Bill Over Fears of Clashing with the Navy
By David Alani Ige, (The Scribe)
Published on Ayekooto Media | July 29, 2026
ABUJA — The highly anticipated legislation seeking to establish a specialized Nigeria Coast Guard has hit a major roadblock in the Senate. During plenary, Senate President Godswill Akpabio directed the suspension of the bill, stepping it down for further consultation.
The bill, sponsored by Senator Wasiu Eshinlokun (APC, Lagos East) and championed by the Committee on Marine Transport, aimed to create an agency tasked with protecting Nigeria’s 853-kilometer coastline, curbing illegal fishing, and supporting the blue economy. It had successfully passed the second reading and public hearings.
However, the unvarnished reality on the floor of the Senate was a deep concern over "role duplication." Senator Akpabio revealed that several lawmakers raised alarms that creating another maritime security body would inevitably cause operational and jurisdictional friction with the already existing—and underfunded—Nigerian Navy and Marine Police.
The Senate concluded that while the bill has merit for the blue economy, it must be shelved until the Coast Guard’s operational framework is distinctly separated from the constitutional duties of the Nigerian Navy to prevent a chaotic overlap in the nation's waters.
David Alani Ige, (The Scribe)
Publisher/ Editor-in-Chief, Ayekooto Media
Phunshor01@gmail.com | publisher@ayekootomediang.com
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