By Olugbenga Salami
Provisionary Committee of the proposed Nigerian Coast Guard, has said that the impending agency’s origin, name and activity did not fall within the erroneous labelling of being “proscribed and fake.”
A bill for the establishment of the agency with No: SB.844 is before the National Assembly.
Specifically, Captain of the Chaplaincy Corps and CEO of the Provisionary Committee, Noah Ichaba declared in a statement made available to our correspondent that the proposed Nigerian Coast Guard’s name is being impersonated by unscrupulous persons in some parts of the country.
Ichaba stated that “the illegal undertakings of those dishonest individuals, who are not part of the Bill Facilitation Team is unacceptable and are hereby warned to quit their unlawful activities or face the full wrath of the law.”
The statement further reads: “The proposed Nigerian Coast Guard has no link whatsoever with the Dissolution and Proscription Order of 2013 contained in the FGN Official Gazette No. 58 Vol. 100. The Order specifically mentioned, stated and captured three Associations, and further prohibited their founders, owners or operators from using new name or title going by the provision in paragraph 2 of the Order which states:
“As from the commencement of this Order, the dissolved and proscribed associations shall not be formed into any new association by whatever name or title, within the meaning of this Order.
“The public is invited to note that Nigerian Coast Guard was not one of any of the dissolved and proscribed association, then and now. The proposed Nigerian Coast Guard was not formed in a new name or title by any of the owner, founder or operator of the proscribed Associations.
“None of the proprietors of the illegal outfits is involved in the process of facilitating the establishment of the proposed Nigerian Coast Guard, which its Establishment Bill No: SB.844 is currently before the National Assembly.”
It also informed that any information conveyed at any point in time in the past, by any one through any means, which gave an impression that Nigerian Coast Guard has any connection whatsoever with any of the affected association or that it is an offshoot of any of the proscribed body by a new name or title, should be disregarded.
The statement explained that the Facilitation Team had taken constructive step through a court affidavit to effectively dissociate itself from the owners, founders or operators of the dissolved associations and the inimical activities of their banned outfits.
