Senate passes bill to establish "Nigeria Peace Corps".

The Senate on Thursday passed the Nigerian Peace Corps Bill which seeks to empower,
develop and provide gainful employment for youths.
The Bill, which was sponsored by Senate Leader,
Mohammed Ali Ndume (APC-Borno), was first read
at plenary on March 10, 2016 and scaled second
reading.
It seeks to facilitate peace volunteerism,
community service, neighbourhood watch and
nation building.
The bill will also facilitate the training of youths to
advance the course of peace building and conflict
transformation through peace education, mediation
and conflict resolution among warring groups or
communities where there are crisis in Nigeria.
The passage of the Bill followed a report presented
by the Chairman, Senate Committee on Interior,
Sen. Bayero Nafada (APC-Gombe North) after
clause by clause consideration.
According to the report, the head of the corps will
be referred to as Commandant General with six
Deputy Commandants from the six geopolitical
zones of the country.
The headquarters of the corps would be domiciled
in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.
The functions of the corps include promoting social
and economic development and empowering and
preoccupying the Nigerian youths through job
creation and provision of alternative employment.
In his contributions, Sen. Samuel Anyanwu (PDP-
Imo) said that the Bill would create job
opportunities and help in augmenting the efforts of
security agencies.
Similarly, Sen. Sabi Abdullahi (APC-Niger) said that
in tackling security issues, there was the need to
use multiple approach, hence the need for the bill.
“We need to allow more participation in the
security space,’’ he said.
In his remark, the President of the Senate, Bukola
Saraki, said that the passage of the Bill would go a
long way to institutionalise the Peace Corps that
had been functioning for a long time without the
backing of the law.
He expressed the hope that with the passage of the
Bill, it would contribute to the achievement of
peace and stability in the country.
Briefing journalists after plenary, the Commander
General of the Corps, Dr. Chinedu Nneji , said that
the passage of the Bill was the beginning of a new
era that would help in ensuring total peace in the
country.
“We will permeate and move into our various
communities to ensure that we bring total peace to
Nigeria. We will also make sure that the issue of
Boko haram, which the Nigerian military had
reduced to the barest minimum, becomes a thing
of the past,” he said.
The Peace Corps of Nigeria (PCN) is a non-
governmental organisation that aimed at resolving
conflicts, peace building and engaging youths to
divert their attention from violence.