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Peace Corps: Dickson Akoh Breaks Silence On Rejection Of Bill by odeh1(m): 2:52am On Mar 02, 2018 |
The news of President Muhammudu
Buhari withholding his assent to the Bill
for an Act to Establish the Nigerian
Peace Corps (NPC) was received as a
huge shock. The rejection has however
opened a new chapter and it is our
desired hope that legislative actions will
be taken by the two Chambers of the
National Assembly.
Recall that when Chief Olusegun
Obansajo as President and Commander-
in-Chief rejected the Niger Delta
Development Commission (NDDC) Bill,
and returned same to the National
Assembly, they invoked section 58 (4)
and (5) of the 1999 Constitution to
override the President’s rejection.
This section states, ‘where the President
withholds his assent and the Bill is
again passed by two-third majority, the
Bill shall become law and the assent of
the President shall not be required.’
Similarly, when President Olusegun
Obasanjo withheld his assent on the
Freedom of Information Act, Dr
Goodluck Ebele Jonathan on assuming
office as President, assented to the Bill.
Let me state without any fear of
contradiction and equipped with
documented evidence, the rejection of
the Bill was at the instance of the
Nigeria Police, Nigeria Security and Civil
Defense Corps, State Security Service
and the Vigilante Group of Nigeria (a
relatively unknown organization). Their
ill advice to Mr. President was premised
on primitive, premeditated, parochial
and primordial sentiments. Like cases in
the past, the letter transmitted to the
National Assembly on NPC Bill never
made specific reference to any section
of NPC being in conflict with any
security agency. Besides, PCN, a
uniformed organization, never told
anyone that it is a security agency,
rather, a Youth Development Agency out
to complement conventional Security
Agencies by being pre-emptive to youth
vulnerability to crimes and other acts of
insecurities.
Though the rejection is a temporary
setback, it has only succeeded in
delaying the expectations of youths and
other well-meaning Nigerians. It is
ridiculous that one of the reasons stated
was that there is no money to fund NPC
when established, but there are Billions
of dollars to invest in equipping Security
Agencies to fight crime and insecurity
which runs counter to the ideals of
democratic principles and genuine
nation building. We are, however,
consoled that the two reasons stated by
Mr President in his letter to the National
Assembly are not strange to us as they
are in objection to the Bill, same
reasons stated by the Nigeria Police,
State Security Service, Nigeria Security
and Civil Defense Corps and the Ministry
of Interior during the Public Hearings
organized by the House of
Representatives and the Senate. It is
preposterous that a Bill passed by
majority members of the National
Assembly; supported by 574
memoranda and oral submissions made
during the Public Hearings by various
institutions such as Government
Ministries and Agencies, Religious
Bodies, National Youth Council of
Nigeria, National Association of Nigerian
Students, State Agencies and House of
Assemblies, Educational Institutions,
Civil Society Organizations and other
None Governmental Organizations is
being discarded because of the
mundane interest of less than Six
Government Agencies.
Notwithstanding Mr President
withholding assent on the Bill, as a
disciplined, uniformed and patriotic
youth organization, we remain
absolutely loyal and maintain
tremendous respect for him, while
hoping that the needful will be done
sooner than later.
At this juncture, while all hope is not
lost for the NPC Establishment Act to be
promulgated, let me make it abundantly
clear that the none-assent to the Bill by
Mr President does not invalidate the
existing PCN and its activities
nationwide as the Corps remains a legal
entity under the Companies and Allied
Matters Act 1990.
I have stated repeatedly in the past that
the essence of the Bill is to give
statutory backing to our organization
and to attract budgetary allocation,
including salaries, pensions and
gratuities etc. therefore, no one should
assume that our activities are illegal.
On this note, I register my absolute
regret and apology to the vast majority
of Nigerian youth, particularly the loyal
Officers and Men of PCN over this
temporary setback. While delay is not
denial, we should all bear in mind that
patience and endurance are said to be
golden but difficult to overcome. I have
been in this struggle since 1990. All the
while, I endured distractions and
humiliations because of my fervent
belief that in building an enduring
institution, which we are collectively
aiming at, there is bound to be man-
made obstacle but at the end of it all,
victory is certain and belongs to God. I
therefore urge all bonafide Officers and
Men to be unrelenting in their support;
be calm and law abiding. Very very
soon, I assure, we shall all have cause
to celebrate.
Amb. (Dr) Dickson A.O. Akoh, FCITr,
FCPA, FNSIS
www.idomavoice.com/2018/02/peace-corps-dickson-akoh-breaks-silence.html?m=1
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Re: Peace Corps: Dickson Akoh Breaks Silence On Rejection Of Bill by OfficialAwol(m): 3:57am On Mar 02, 2018 |
I personally, am in support of Buhari on this one. We should call a spade a spade when we see one. There's no need duplicating paramilitary bodies; we have enough already. It will just further be a strain on the meagre resources of our struggling economy. I just hope this Dickson Akoh of a guy would be able to refund half of the billions he has defrauded innocent youths in the name of registration and on. |
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