Peace Corps bill resubmitted to Buhari despite 2018 rejection

The National Assembly has sent the harmonised version of the Nigerian Peace Corps bill to President Muhammadu Buhari for his signature.

This occurred following passage by both the Senate and the House of Representatives.

The bill was transmitted for Presidential assent this week by the Clerk to the National Assembly (CNA), Sani Tambuwal, via a letter written to that effect.

According to an authoritative source in the National Assembly, the letter was written on the letterhead of the CNA, dated April 12, and was addressed directly to President Muhammadu Buhari.

According to the source, three copies of the authenticated copies of the bills were forwarded to the President for assent, one of which is expected to be retained by him and the other two returned to the National Assembly for further action.

In line with provisions of the 1999 Constitution, President Buhari is expected to assent to the bill on or before May 11 when 30 days window given for such important action must have been exploited.

The Bill, if assented to, the existing Peace Corps of Nigeria which had been operating on the template of volunteerism over the years, will now be Federal Government owned and funded Agency in the name of Nigeria Peace Corps.

The bill passed its third reading on April 12, 2022.

The bill is being sponsored by Ali Ndume, a senator representing Borno North.

While presenting the report on the floor of the Senate on Tuesday, Umar said his committee received “hundreds of memoranda” from stakeholders who are supporting the passage of the legislation.

The senator said the bill, if passed and assented to by the president, would help tackle rising unemployment in the country.

After presenting his report, the senate went into the “committee of the whole” where they considered and passed 40 sections of the bill.

In 2018, President Buhari rejected the bill, citing security concerns and the financial burden of funding the organization.

But Ndume reintroduced the bill in 2019, arguing that the concerns raised by Buhari had been addressed in the new bill.

The bill passed its first reading not long after the ninth national assembly led by Senate President Ahmad Lawan was inaugurated.