Senate urges Buhari to change his mind about Peace Corps bill

macfranc007 March 08, 2018 Nigeria News today & Breaking news ▷ Read Nigerian newspapers 24/7 Adeola Opeyemi

- The Nigerian Senate has appealed to President Buhari to look into the Peace Corps bill again

- The senate threatened to veto the president if he fails to rescind his rejection of the bill

- Senator Dino Melaye listed out the benefits of the bill to Nigerian youths in need of employment

The Senate on Wednesday urged President Muhammadu Buhari to review his position in withholding assent on the bill to establish Peace Corps of Nigeria.

This followed the adoption of a Point of Order raised by Senator Dino Melaye during plenary.

Relying on the Senate rules, Melaye urged the Senate to revisit the bill with a view to veto the president if he failed to rescind his rejection of the bill.

President Buhari had cited duplication of duty and funding challenges in declining assent to the Nigerian Peace Corps (Establishment) Bill, 2017 recently passed by the National Assembly.

However, Melaye said that the bill should be given priority by Buhari.

“The same thing happened when the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) was to be established; there was also the same complaint that there was no money and all of that.

“But today we can see the advantages of the civil defence and how they have helped in safeguarding the government infrastructure.

“About 5.5 billion dollars was borrowed from euro bond; what part of it will the youths of this country benefit from.

“About one billion dollars is to be spent on security and how does this affect the youth of this country.

“Also, N500 billion was earmarked for the social investment programme of the Federal Government but we have not seen any impact.

“If the Peace Corps is given an opportunity to exist, thousands will be employed and this will help to fight unemployment in this country.

“We may need to write president to review his position if not we have the power on behalf of the Nigerian youths who voted us to veto him so that people will become the ultimate beneficiaries of this bill.

“The youth of this country must be given priority and they must be respected,’’ Melaye said.

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NAIJ.com had earlier reported that members of the National Assembly are planning to override President Muhammadu Buhari's powers to pass the Peace Corps bill.

Sources quoted in the report say the lawmakers would take decisive action to override Buhari’s rejection of the Nigerian Peace Corps bill, which they laboured to pass last year and transmitted to the presidency before the end of 21017.

One of the lawmakers quoted in the report under the condition of anonymity, said the leadership of the National Assembly were disappointed by the decision of the executive to jettison the bill, which the lawmakers consider as a ‘priority’ to boost their political mileage in the forthcoming election.

EXCLUSIVE: Be patient with President Buhari, Femi Adesina tells Nigerians on NAIJ.com TV