President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has transmitted two major bills to the Nigerian Senate aimed at overhauling drug law enforcement and establishing an independent, multimodal transport safety investigation authority.
The bills were read by Senate President Godswill Akpabio during Tuesday’s plenary session, pursuant to Section 58(2) of the Nigerian Constitution.
The first piece of legislation, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) Bill 2026, seeks to repeal the existing NDLEA Act and the Indian Hemp Act of 2004, establishing a unified legal framework to combat drug-related offences.
President Tinubu noted that the proposed law will tighten enforcement against the cultivation, processing, sale, trafficking, and use of illicit substances, while expanding the agency’s investigative powers.
The push comes amid persistent challenges in West Africa’s drug landscape; a United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) assessment reported a more than 40 percent surge in Nigerian methamphetamine production capacity since 2020, alongside vast seizures by the NDLEA.
In a separate communication, the President transmitted the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (Amendment) Bill 2026. This legislation seeks to amend the 2022 Act to transform the NSIB into an independent, multimodal safety investigation authority.
Under the proposed changes, the bureau’s mandate will expand beyond aviation to formally cover rail, maritime, and other transportation modes.
The bill also proposes transferring supervisory oversight of the bureau directly to the Presidency, a move intended to enhance institutional and administrative powers while shielding investigators from undue influence.
Both bills have been referred by the Senate President to the Senate Committee on Rules and Business for further legislative processing.
