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Peace Corps: Dickson Akoh breaks silence on rejection of bill

Published

7 years ago

on

 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
NATIONAL COMMANDANT
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Benue news

Peace Corps: Dickson Akoh breaks silence on bribery scandal

Published

7 years ago

on

The National Commandant of the Peace Corps of Nigeria, Amb Dickson Akoh has refuted the story making the round in the media that the organization bribed members of the National Assembly to pass the bill.

Akoh was reacting to a report, which was widely published online on Saturday, which alleged that the PCN, whose bill was recently passed and adopted at the National Assembly, bribed some Senate members with cash and slots to pass the bill.

In a statement issued on Saturday, Akoh described the story as a “campaign of calumny, targeted at distracting the presidency from assenting to the bill”.

The PCN boss called on Nigerians to disregard the report in entirety as it has no element of truth but the figment of the writer’s imagination.

He said, “My attention was drawn to the article on social media that cast the PCN in a contemptuous light, but on a second thought, they may be referring to a rival organization, National Unity And Peace Corps led by one Mr. Chinedu Nneji, whose Bill was nipped in the bud by the National Assembly.

“The Peace Corps of Nigeria (PCN), as the largest youth organization in Africa, has a well-structured network of branches in all the States Capital in Nigeria, including the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja with current membership strength of over 157, 000 comprising of both regular members and volunteers.

“PCN and its activities, established since 1998 in the ancient City of Kaduna, was accorded Federal Government recognition, under the Federal Ministry of Youth Development, since 2004 and is a member of the National Youth Council of Nigeria.

“The Corps was in 2012 accorded a Special Consultative Status by the United Nations and assigned desk offices at the UN Headquarters in New York City, USA and regional offices in Geneva, Switzerland and Vienna, Austria.

“The African Union, in the same vein, accorded PCN a special Conservative Status in 2016 on the occasion of its 18th Anniversary. Also, the Federal Ministry of Education granted PCN approval  to establish its activities in all the Federal Government Colleges (Unity Schools) in the Federation since 2011. It is also affiliated to National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to provide emergency relief  and humanitarian services.

“The Corps and its leadership has received over 70 Awards, Locally and Internationally. Does it mean this Organization bribed its way to have recorded all these achievements and recognition, including bribing its way to the hearts of African Union and United Nations.

“From the foregoing, I wish to posit that it is most unfortunate that it has become a trade in stock for some individuals or groups, nowadays, to pre-occupy themselves with character assassination and distortion of obvious facts and figures against this noble objective.

“We recall too that the two Chambers of the National Assembly, as part of the legislative processes, organized Public Hearings in their respective Chambers in respect of NPC Bill.

“Over 570 Memoranda were received and 300 oral submissions made during the Public Hearings. In all of these, it was only 4 submissions and presentations that were against the passage of the Bill. Public Hearing is one of the most important part of Bill making processes.

“Does it mean Peace Corps bribed its way into the hearts of all individuals and institutions, including Federal Government Ministries/Agencies, Traditional and Religious Institutions that all advocated for the passage of the Bill?

 “Former Military President, General Ibrahim Babangida once said, “If our Lord Jesus Christ was misrepresented, Prophet Mohammed too misrepresented in Their days of ministrations, then to be misrepresented is to be great.

“Certainly, NPC is on the part to greatness. The question now begging for answers from every rational mind is that can any youth based Organization has the financial capacity or wherewithal to bribe a single Senator or House of Representatives member, how much more of the entire National Assembly members and its leadership; some of whom where former Governors, Ministers, Business moguls, Retired Generals, e.t.c.

“After the Passage of the Bill, we do expect deliberate and calculated campaign of calumny by those who want to truncate it being assented to by the Mr President.”

Akoh, was however, optimistic that, like any other antics and tactics in the past, to frustrate the establishment of the Corps, the ongoing smear campaign against the organisation would still fail, adding that, what God has ordained, mere mortals could only fight but in vain.


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