President Bola Tinubu has forwarded two proposed laws to the Senate seeking to reform Nigeria’s drug enforcement legislation and expand the mandate of the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau.
The bills, titled the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Bill 2026 and the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau Amendment Bill 2026, were transmitted to the upper chamber in separate letters addressed to Senate President Godswill Akpabio on Tuesday.
The proposed legislation seeks to replace existing legal provisions on drug-related offences with a consolidated framework and transform the NSIB into an independent safety investigation agency covering multiple modes of transportation.
In his letter on the NDLEA Bill, Tinubu said the proposed law would repeal the existing NDLEA Act and the Indian Hemp Act, bringing relevant provisions on drug-related offences under a unified legal framework.
The proposed reform is intended to strengthen the legal foundation for combating drug offences by consolidating existing laws and updating the framework governing the agency’s operations.
The second bill seeks to amend the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau Act to broaden the agency’s investigative responsibilities beyond aviation accidents.
Under the proposed changes, the NSIB would operate as a multimodal safety investigation authority, with a wider remit covering transportation-related incidents across different sectors.
The proposed expansion is expected to provide a broader institutional framework for investigating safety incidents and identifying measures to prevent similar occurrences.
Both bills were transmitted under Section 58(2) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, which forms part of the constitutional procedure governing presidential assent to legislation passed by the National Assembly.
The Senate is expected to consider the proposals as part of the legislative process before any eventual enactment.
The bills remain proposals and will require the necessary legislative consideration and approval before their provisions can take effect.
