Buhari Receives Peace Corps Bill, Set For Assent | The Precision

0
31
A cross section of Peace Corps members during their 18th Anniversary
A cross section of Peace Corps members during their 18th Anniversary
The special adviser on Senate to President Muhammadu
Buhari, Ita Enang says the much-anticipated Nigerian Peace Corps Bill has arrived the
Presidency for a possible assent.

 

“The peace corp bill has just been forwarded to the president and it
is undergoing the standard procedure,” he said.

Mr Enang said copies of the bill, tagged ‘Nigerian Peace Corps
(Establishment) Bill 2017, were transmitted to President Buhari late
last week by the Clerk to the National Assembly, Sani Omolori.

The former lawmaker said if the bill is signed, the president will retain one
copy and return the remaining two copies to the National Assembly for
further action.

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});

The Senate passed the bill on November 25, 2016, shortly after the House of Representatives passed the same bill.

A conference committee of both chambers was inaugurated on December 8, 2016, to harmonise the bill.

The House of Representatives laid and adopted its conference report
on January 19, 2017, while the Senate adopted its report on July 25,
2017.

Mr. Enang did not explain why it took long for the bill to sent to the presidency.

When signed into law, the Nigerian Peace Corps (Establishment) Bill
2017, will give legal backing to the establishment of Peace Corps of
Nigeria. 
The bill will also allow all serving members of the Peace Corps of
Nigeria, both regular and volunteers, to be absolved into the Nigerian
Peace Corps, at commencement. The Nigerian police had stormed the Peace Corps headquarters on
February 17, 2017 and arrested the head of the organisation, Dickson
Akoh, and about 49 other members.

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});

The police accused Mr. Akoh of using the Peace Corps, registered as a
non-governmental organisation, to swindle young job seekers and operate
as a para-military agency.

Mr. Akoh, who denied the allegations, has since been granted bail.

The Federal High Court in Abuja subsequently ordered the Nigeria
Police to unseal the headquarters of the Peace Corps and pay N12.5
million as damages. The police has not complied with the order.

Donate to Precision

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here