By James Adamu
President Bola Tinubu has sent two separate bills to the Senate, seeking to reshape how Nigeria fights drug crime and how it investigates transport accidents.
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Bill 2026 and the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau Amendment Bill 2026 were contained in two letters addressed to Senate President Godswill Akpabio and read on the floor on Tuesday.
Both proposals were forwarded under Section 58(2) of the 1999 Constitution, which governs how executive bills are presented to the National Assembly before they can be passed and sent back to the President for assent.
The NDLEA Bill, if passed, would collapse Nigeria’s existing drug laws into one statute. It seeks to repeal both the NDLEA Act, Cap. N30, and the Indian Hemp Act, Cap. I16, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004.
In his letter, Tinubu explained that the new bill is designed to create one consolidated legal framework for tackling the cultivation, processing, sale, trafficking and use of hard drugs.
Beyond enforcement, the proposed law would widen the agency’s powers to investigate anyone suspected of involvement in drug-related activity.
The President asked the Senate to treat the bill with urgency. Akpabio thereafter referred it to the Committee on Rules and Business for the next stage of legislative work.
The second bill targets the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau, currently governed by the NSIB (Establishment) Act No. 35 of 2022.
Under the proposed amendment, the bureau’s independence would be reinforced and its jurisdiction stretched well past aviation. Rail, maritime and other transport accidents and incidents would fall within its investigative reach.
The bill also proposes moving supervisory oversight of the bureau to the Presidency, while boosting its institutional, operational and administrative capacity.
That push for a wider safety mandate comes weeks after a Nigerian Air Force ATR-42 aircraft crashed near Igbokoda in Ondo State on October 5, killing 25 people.
The Senate has already demanded a full probe into the crash, alongside an audit of military aircraft serviceability and maintenance funding.
Tinubu, in the letter, asked lawmakers to consider the NSIB changes in line with Section 58(2) of the Constitution and to act without delay. The bill was also referred to the Committee on Rules and Business.
Both bills now enter the committee stage, where lawmakers will scrutinise the details before reporting back to the full Senate.
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