There’s no recruitment in the name of the Proposed Nigeria Coast Guard

The Provisionary Committee of the Proposed Nigerian Coast Guard (PC-NCG) makes this declaration from a position shaped by patriotism, experience, responsibility and a deep appreciation of the importance of protecting the name and institutional identity of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Our advocacy for the establishment of a Nigerian Coast Guard has, over time, taken us through significant challenges, institutional engagements and even self-serving litigation that remains before the courts.

Those experiences have reinforced our conviction that national institutions must never be reduced to personal claims, private interests or informal assumptions of authority; rather, their names, identities and legitimacy must be protected with discipline, respect for due process and fidelity to law. It is against this background—and in recognition that the name “Nigerian Coast Guard” carries with it an expectation of national authority and public trust—that PC-NCG considers it necessary to establish and publicly affirm a clear principle: no private individual or organisation should recruit, appoint, commission, train, confer official ranks upon, sell uniform and such other items, or otherwise represent itself as exercising governmental authority on behalf of the proposed Nigerian Coast Guard before the institution is lawfully established and its implementation formally commenced by the Federal Government.

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The proposed Coast Guard is presently the subject of legislative consideration; it is therefore essential that Nigerians understand the distinction between advocating for the establishment of an institution, legislating to establish that institution, and exercising governmental authority on behalf of an institution that has not yet been legally established and operationalized.
PC-NCG wishes to make this principle absolutely clear: Advocacy is not government authority. A Bill is not an operational institution.

A proposed Coast Guard is not yet a statutory Coast Guard. Private representation is not statutory authority. Until the Nigerian Coast Guard is lawfully established by the competent organs of government and the Federal Government formally commences its implementation, no private individual or organisation should present itself as possessing governmental authority to recruit Nigerians into the Nigerian Coast Guard, appoint or commission personnel into the Nigerian Coast Guard, confer official Coast Guard ranks, issue official Coast Guard identification cards, issue official appointment letters or certificates, conduct training represented as official Nigerian Coast Guard training, collect recruitment or appointment fees in the name of the Nigerian Coast Guard, issue or sell purported official Coast Guard uniforms, insignia or badges or otherwise represent private activities as though they constitute official acts of the Federal Government or of an established Nigerian Coast Guard.

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PC-NCG deliberately makes this declaration without naming any individual or organisation. The principle must apply equally to everyone – including immediate economic package seekers. Whether an individual supports the Coast Guard Bill or opposes it; whether an organisation claims to have originated the idea or joined the advocacy later; whether a group calls itself an association, committee, command, movement or organisation—no private identity can substitute for statutory authority. PC-NCG will therefore not support the misuse of the proposed institution’s name by anybody, including persons who may claim to support the same Coast Guard objective.
The Nigerian public must not be placed in a position where phone call or an advertisement reading: “Nigerian Coast Guard Recruitment, Training or Reorientation Exercise” automatically creates the impression that the Federal Government has commenced official recruitment. Nor should an unsuspecting Nigerian be presented with a uniform; a rank; an identification card; a certificate; a training programme; an appointment letter; a recruitment form or a demand for payment, and reasonably believe that he or she is dealing with an already established government security institution when no such official authority has been demonstrated. Such confusion is dangerous.

It can expose citizens to financial exploitation. It can create false expectations of government employment. It can compromise the credibility of the Coast Guard proposal. It can create unnecessary tension with existing security institutions. And it can provide ammunition to those who argue that the establishment of a Coast Guard would create institutional disorder rather than resolve it.

The very institution that PC-NCG is advocating for must ultimately be an institution of law. It must have: lawful authority; defined jurisdiction; accountable leadership; legislatively defined functions; approved funding; lawful recruitment; professional training; regulated uniforms and insignia; recognised ranks; clear command relationships; and democratic and institutional oversight.

It would therefore be fundamentally contradictory for an advocacy organisation to demand the establishment of a lawful Coast Guard while simultaneously permitting individuals to behave as though the institution already exists outside the law. PC-NCG rejects that contradiction.

The name “Nigerian Coast Guard” carries an expectation of public authority. If that name is allowed to become associated with unofficial recruitment, private appointments, self-appointed ranks, questionable training schemes, unauthorized uniforms, financial solicitation or money making venture, the damage will not be limited to the individuals involved. The damage could follow the institution itself. That is why PC-NCG believes that protecting the integrity of the name today is part of preparing the institution for tomorrow. The Ministry of Defence has previously warned about the security consequences of unauthorized use of military uniforms and the danger of individuals using military or paramilitary appearance to create confusion. PC-NCG therefore considers it both responsible and necessary to make the distinction clear before the institution is established.
PC-NCG advises members of the public to exercise caution regarding anyone claiming to conduct official Nigerian Coast Guard recruitment, appointment, commissioning, training or sale of related items before the lawful establishment and formal implementation of the institution. Do not assume that a uniform means government authority. Do not assume that a rank means lawful appointment. Do not assume that a certificate means government recognition. Do not pay recruitment or training fees merely because an organisation or individual uses the name “Nigerian Coast Guard.” Where there is uncertainty, the authenticity of any purported government recruitment or appointment should be independently verified through the appropriate government authorities.
PC-NCG respectfully calls upon the relevant government institutions to protect the Nigerian public from unauthorized representations made in the name of the provisional Nigerian Coast Guard. Where credible evidence exists of unauthorized recruitment, financial solicitation, purported official training, false representation, misuse of uniforms or insignia, or other activities capable of misleading the public, PC-NCG believes such matters should be referred to the appropriate authorities for independent investigation. PC-NCG will provide relevant evidence in its possession whenever lawfully required.
This is also a message to prospective workforces and interested parties, that if we are asking the National Assembly to establish a professional, disciplined and accountable national institution, concerned parties and the advocacy movement must demonstrate those qualities before the institution is created. We must show discipline before authority, evidence before accusation, law before power, professionalism before position, institutional responsibility before personal ambition and national interest before individual recognition.
The Coast Guard advocacy must never degenerate into a contest of recklessness or a competition over who gets to wear a uniform, who has right to confer rank, recruit the most people or claim the greatest authority. It must remain a principled pursuit of national interest, institutional clarity and maritime security. The objective is not to create a private Coast Guard, but for the Nigerian state to establish a lawful Coast Guard. So why focus on unapproved approach and foster disunity? The PCNCG hereby declares that no individual, private group, association, or advocacy body has the authority to privately recruit personnel in the name of the proposed Nigerian Coast Guard. This is necessary because recruitment into a federal security or paramilitary institution can only derive from lawful governmental authority and an established legal framework. Until the Nigerian Coast Guard is formally established by law and the appropriate government institutions commence an authorized recruitment process, no private person or organization should represent itself as having the power to recruit on its behalf.
The PCNCG hereby declares that no private individual or organization has the authority to commission personnel into the proposed Nigerian Coast Guard. Commissioning into a government security institution carries official legal and institutional significance and cannot be conferred by private persons. Allowing private commissioning would create the false impression of official status and undermine the authority of the government and the institution that may eventually be established by law.
The PCNCG hereby declares that no individual may confer upon himself or herself an official rank, title, or designation purportedly belonging to the Nigerian Coast Guard. This is necessary because official ranks and designations derive their legitimacy from law and the competent authority of an established institution. Self-assumption of such ranks can mislead the public, create false authority, and improperly suggest an official relationship with a government institution that has not yet been lawfully established.
The PCNCG hereby declares that no private person, association or advocacy group may appoint individuals into purported official positions within the proposed Nigerian Coast Guard. Such appointments are inappropriate because official appointments must be made pursuant to the enabling law of an established institution and by the authority legally empowered to make them. Private appointments risk creating parallel structures of authority and misleading the public into believing that such positions carry governmental recognition.
The PCNCG hereby declares that no privately organized training programme should be represented as official Nigerian Coast Guard training unless it has been expressly authorized by the competent government authority. This distinction is necessary to protect members of the public from being misled into believing that participation in a private training programme confers government recognition, employment, rank, or appointment in the proposed Nigerian Coast Guard.
The PCNCG hereby declares that no individual or organization should solicit or collect money from members of the public by representing that such payment is required for recruitment, enlistment, training, commissioning, appointment, or placement in the proposed Nigerian Coast Guard. This declaration is necessary to protect unsuspecting Nigerians from financial exploitation and to ensure that the name and proposed institution of the Nigerian Coast Guard are not used as a vehicle for fraudulent recruitment or financial inducement.
The PCNCG hereby declares that private advocacy for the establishment of the Nigerian Coast Guard must never be presented as governmental authority or as evidence of an existing official Nigerian Coast Guard institution. Advocacy and governmental authority are fundamentally different. Advocacy may promote legislation and public policy, but it does not, by itself, confer the power to recruit, appoint, commission, issue official ranks, train personnel as government officers, or exercise statutory authority.
These declarations are not intended to obstruct legitimate advocacy for the establishment of the Nigerian Coast Guard; rather, they are intended to protect the integrity of that advocacy, safeguard the public from misrepresentation and exploitation, and preserve the distinction between legitimate advocacy and governmental authority. Any person who engages in unauthorized recruitment, appointment, training, commissioning, sales or collection of money the name of Nigerian Coast Guard may obtain temporary monetary benefit, but such act cannot create lawful governmental authority or confer legitimate status on those involved. Ultimately, the greater burden falls on those who are misled or exploited, whose money, time expectations and legitimate aspirations may be irretrievably lost, with nothing to show for their misled sacrifice. This principle applies to everyone. We adopt it as a standard of institutional conduct.
Nigeria does not need a Coast Guard that will begin with a prospective workforce that are confusion bred. Nigeria needs a Coast Guard that begins with law, legitimacy, professionalism public trust, and disciplined personnel. The institution we are asking Parliament to establish must not derive its authority from advertisements, uniforms, ranks, certificates, private declarations or odd shows. It must derive its authority from the Constitution, an Act of the National Assembly and lawful implementation by the Federal Government.
That is the standard PC-NCG intends to uphold. Pc-NCG is not protecting a personal name but the integrity of the advocacy. PC-NCG is protecting the name of a future national institution. PC-NCG is not protecting a private organisation but the integrity of a national maritime-security reform. And PC-NCG is not asking Nigerians to trust individuals merely because they wear a uniform, but asking Nigerians to trust the law.

Captain Noah Ichaba Chief Executive & Accounting Officer of the PC-NCG.

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