The Nigerian Senate confirmed on Thursday that Prof. Dickson Akoh’s version of the Peace Corps Bill was adopted after debates over which version was adopted by the upper and lower legislative chambers.
The passed legislation has since been forwarded to the executive branch and is awaiting President Muhammadu Buhari’s approval.
Akoh’s Peace Corps was in line with Nigerians’ desire to promote peace, according to a statement made by Senator Ali Ndume, the bill’s sponsor and chairman of the Senate Committee on the Army.
He said the bill seeks “an Act to establish the Nigerian Peace Corps, which was accordingly considered, harmonised, and adopted by the two chambers of the National Assembly.”
The clarification came against the backdrop of some people, including one, Mustapha, allegedly parading themselves as owners of the bill.
The statement reads: “The attention of the leadership of the Senate and indeed the National Assembly has been drawn to different groups laying claims to the Bill for an Act to Establish the Nigerian Peace Corps, which was harmonised and adopted by the two chambers of the National Assembly.
The statement further maintained that Prof Dickson Akoh, who is the founder and commandant of the Peace Corps of Nigeria, sponsored the bill in the Senate and the House of Representatives before it passed into law.
WITHIN NIGERIA learnt the Senate was inundated with inquiries since the bill was passed into law and sent to the presidency for assent on April 12, 2023.