Ogun Command expresses joy over passage of Peace Corps Bill

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By Sola AJIBIKE (Abeokuta)

NIGERIA: THE Ogun State Command of the Peace Corps of Nigeria has expressed joy over the Senate passage of the bill to establish the agency as a para-military.

Officials of the corps went into jubilation at the organisation’s headquarters in Abeokuta, the state capital, after the news was broken to them, with many carrying various placards to express appreciation to the legislators.

With one of the placards which read “Peace Corps Appreciates Senate and House of Representatives for the Final Passage of Nigeria Peace Corps Bill,” members of the corps, who include prospective candidates earlier trained before the sudden hitches about the passage, danced round the headquarters to welcome the new development.

The State Commandant of the corps, Patriot Yusuff Olalekan, praised the Senate and the House of Representatives for their commitment to youth empowerment and national development.

Olalekan while addressing journalists in company of his deputies in charge of Administration and Operations said that the passage of the bill came after the findings and recommendations of the Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters.

According to him, both the Senate and the House of Representatives had separately passed the bill last year before the Conference Committee of both chambers was inaugurated on December 8, 2016, to harmonise the Bill passed at different levels.

Similarly, the Deputy Commandant in charge of Administration, Olufemi Akinyemi, promised that the Corps would not derail from providing quality services to the people in terms of youth reorientation and development, facilitation of peaceful atmosphere and community services.

Akinyemi said: “Parts of our mandate is to develop, empower and provide gainful employment to the youths, in order to facilitate peace, community services, neighbourhood watch, nation-building and other related matters and I assure that we shall continue to do all these for the development of our country.”

The Deputy Commandant, however, stressed that the corps, in line with the Consolidated Bill, shall be domiciled with the Federal Ministry of Youths and Sports Development.

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