BREAKING: Peace Corps bill passes second reading in Senate after rejection by Buhari

The Bill for an Act to establish the Nigerian Peace Corps on Tuesday passed through second reading at the Senate.

The Bill was sponsored by Senator Ali Ndume.

Leading the debate on Tuesday, Senator Ndume reminded the President of the Senate, Dr. Ahmad Lawan how the Bill was introduced and passed in the 8th Senate when he (Lawan) was the Senate leader.

“The Bill went through all legislative processes, including Public Hearing and was overwhelmingly passed. The Bill also passed through all the same necessary legislative crucibles in the House of Representatives and eventually passed”, Ndume narrated.

He explained the core mandate of the Corps which seeks “to develop, empower, and provide gainful employment for the youth to facilitate peace, volunteerism, community services, neighbourhood watch, nation-building and for other related matters”.

Ndume added that, the Bill would “give statutory backing to the existing Peace Corps of Nigeria, which currently has over 187,000 members, comprising of regular staff and volunteers with well-structured network of branches in 36 states of the federation, including the Federal Capital Territory”.