Members House of Representatives have begun collation of
signatures to veto President Muhammadu Buhari’s assent in rejecting the
Nigerian Peace Corps Bill. New Telegraph investigation revealed that so
far, 173 lawmakers have appended their signatures to the document, which
is being coordinated by four lawmakers.
The President had, in a
letter dated January 25, 2018 to the House, cited financial implications
and duplication of duties of existing security agencies, as reasons for
withholding his assent to the bill, which thousands of jobless youths
have been patiently waiting for. A top member of the group from Rivers
State, who spoke to New Telegraph on condition of anonymity, said they
are hopeful that before the expiration of the 30-day window provided for
in the constitution, they will be able to garner the required
two-thirds majority to override the president’s assent. According to
him,
“We need just 240 members to overturn the table against him
(president) and we are double sure that in the next two weeks, we will
convince more members to join this movement. So far, I can confirm to
you that we have 173 members already on our list and this is authentic.
“What
we are doing is not about party or religion or region; it is about
Nigeria; it is about the future of our youths who are roaming about the
streets due to lack of jobs. “The Peace Corps is a veritable platform to
create employment and reduce corruption in Nigeria. Mr. President
cannot be telling Nigerians, ‘we don’t have money’ when the country is
contributing to many bodies.”
Asked whether they will be able to
get the required two-thirds in the Senate, the lawmaker expressed
confidence that their colleagues in the upper chamber were working round
the clock to secure the required number. “Our colleagues in the Senate
are very much in tune with what we are doing; they are as concerned as
we are because Nigerians are suffering; our youths are being held
hostage by an insensitive government. I can assure you, we are going to
get the two-thirds and we will go ahead and create the Peace Corps for
our youths.”
The lawmaker, however, declined to disclose the
identity of those who have appended their signatures to the paper,
saying “we are keeping our list close to our hearts and we will not like
to make it public now. But what I can assure you is that, there is a
group, we have gotten 173 followers as at today and we are ready to
override his (president’s) assent, and there is no going back.
At
the appropriate time, we will make our identity known,” he stated.
Another PDP lawmaker from Kogi State told New Telegraph that “they are
lobbying and mobilising other lawmakers to ensure that Peace Corps
becomes a reality.” “Just imagine the number of jobs it can create.
I
must say Dickson Akoh (the commandant) has done a good job and we must
encourage him,” he stated. The National Assembly is empowered by the
provisions of section 58(5) of the 1999 Constitution as amended, to
override the President’s veto on Bills. While the House requires 240
members to make up its two-thirds, the 109-member Senate requires 81
members to veto the president’s assent. Section 58 (5) provides that
“Where the President withholds his assent and the bill is again passed
by each House by two-thirds majority, the bill shall become law and the
assent of the President shall not be required.”
While Order
12(b)(c) of the Standing Orders and Rules of the House of
Representatives (2016), also provides that the rejected Bill could be
looked upon by the House (through a motion) and if supported by
two-thirds of the Reps, the Bill is proclaimed law without the assent of
the President. It will be recalled that after the president’s letter
withholding his assent was read on the floor of the House by Speaker
Yakubu Dogara last week, many lawmakers picked holes in the development
and expressed the willingness to veto his refusal.
One of the
lawmakers and chairman of the House Committee on Ethics and Privileges,
Hon. Ossai Nicholas Ossai (PDP, Delta) told journalists that the
President’s refusal to assent to the Peace Corps bill was misguided and
would rather aggravate the security challenges in the country. The
lawmaker said the House was going to review the president’s decision and
chart the way forward. According to Ossai, “If the reasons given by Mr.
President are not germane, I will personally lead a lobbying process to
make sure the House veto him.”