…Oyo State Commandant of Peace Corps of Nigeria, PCN, has lauded President Muhammadu Buhari for his readiness to sign the Nigerian Peace Corps Bill into law.
Speaking with our correspondent in Ibadan on Thursday, Patriot Yekini said the signing of the bill would be one of the legacies of President Buhari and the Ninth National Assembly as the agency will complement the existing ones in fighting insecurity especially in schools.
The Peace Corps boss urged members of the National Assembly to patriotically expedite action on the bill in order to etch the names in the golden book of history of the nation.
He also called on the officers and men of the command to remain resolute and keep hope alive, saying:”Better days are coming soon. They should remain hopeful”.
It would be recalled the Senior Special Assistant to the president on National Assembly matters (Reps), Umar El-Yakub, had given the hint on Wednesday evening, while addressing journalists at the House of Representatives.
The National Assembly had, in 2017, passed the Nigerian Peace Corps Establishment Bill, but the president withheld his assent, citing paucity of funds and duplication of duties of the already existing agencies, as reasons.
But just last month, the House of Representatives reintroduced the Bill which has since passed second reading and awaiting final passage.
Responding to questions on Wednesday as to whether the president would assent to the Bill if passed again by the National Assembly, Mr El-Yakub said, “With the renewed relationship (between the executive and the legislature), I’m sure there will be more work that will lead to the expeditious passage of the Bill and of course, Mr President will assent to all Bills passed by the National Assembly, which do not have conflict or reservations.
The House of Representatives had slated the Peace Corps Bill for final passage Thursday last week.
But due to the debate on the general principles of 2020 Appropriation Bill, the Chief Whip sought the leave of the House to step it down till later date.
After passage by the Reps, the Senate is expected to pass a concurrent vote on it before a clean copy of the Bill is sent to the President for assent.
