Save Nigerian youth from suicide, assent to Peace Corps Bill, Ikugbese tells Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari has been urged to rescind his decision and assent to the Peace Corps of Nigeria (PCN) Bill aimed at providing employments for the teeming youths in the country. Thomas Wilson Ikubese, the presidential aspirant of National Conscience Party (NCP) made the plea while addressing journalists in Akure, on Thursday. Mr. Ikugbese said signing the bill would have given credence to the government of President Buhari who had promised to engage youths in his administration.

He highlighted the need for the President to assent to the Peace Corps of Nigeria bill in order to prevent more unemployed youths from committing suicide. President Muhammadu Buhari had on Tuesday declined to assent to the Nigeria Peace Corps (Establishment) Bill passed in 2017 by the National Assembly.Yakubu Dogora, Speaker of the House of Representatives read the letter from the President who cited security concerns and financial implication as parts of the reasons for declining to sign the bill.

On Wednesday evening, report had gone viral that the refusal of President Buhari to sign the bill forced a member of Peace Corps of Nigeria, Timothy Gambo to commit suicide in Gombe state. Speaking further, Ikugbese observed that the refusal of President Buhari to sign the bill would affect over one hundred and fifty youths who had hoped that the Peace Corps of Nigeria would provide them a means of livelyhood.

I urge President Muhammadu Buhari to save more souls from committing suicide by reconsidering his earlier stance and grant assent to the PCN bill, to the glory of his administration.

“If however, President Buhari fails to so do presently, I urge members of the National Assembly to recall the bill to Parliament, muster two-thirds of the membership of the House of Representatives and Senate and pass it into law in spite of Mr. President’s veto”.

He noted that the APC led government of President Buhari was already sitting on the keg of gunpowder by refusing to sign the Nigeria Peace Corps bill.Mr. Ikugbese said that Nigeria with the population of one hundred and eighty-six million people and a police population of about 370, 000 need effective policing. Of the 370, 000 a staggering 80% of this number are assigned to private citizens, politicians, businessmen and private enterprises while leaving only 20% for the core police duties of peace and security.

It is a known fact that today, in not a few cases, as much as 30 police officers are attached to a single individual. In simple terms, of the 370, 000 Police officers in Nigeria, 296,000 are assigned as private’ guards while only 74,000 are left to the core duties of policing a nation of 186 million people. The United Nations recommendation for Police: Citizen ratio is 1:400, meaning that every 400 people should be policed by an officer.

However, with the current Nigerian situation of 74,000 police officers to a population of 186 million people, we run on a ratio of 1: 2,514.This means that instead of a Police officer to a population of 400 people, we have one police officer to 2,514 citizens, leaving us SIX TIMES under – policed.According to him, there are people in the security agencies and in the presidency frustrating efforts of President Buhari to append his signature on the bill.

He said that the Peace Corps of Nigeria (PCN) was not in a competition with the other security agencies in the nation nor planning to serve as a rival organisation.He explained that the Presidency should not be scared of monthly remuneration that the Peace Corps of Nigeria will gulp from the scarce resources of the nation.The NCP Presidential aspirant noted that the fund to run the corps does not need to come from the federal government as those who requires its service could pay.

Persons who require the services of these officers will pay specified sums to a designated account from which their salaries will be drawn monthly, thus taking the financial burden off govt.The funding for this unit shall also come from citizens who break the law and are fined thereby. Such fines will be paid into the designated account from wherein the salaries of the Peace Corps members will be drawn” Ikubese added.