The Senate has adopted the conference committee report on the Nigeria Peace Corps (Establishment) Bill, 2023.

This followed the presentation of the report by the vice-chairman of the Senate committee on interior, Seriake Dickson, during plenary on Tuesday.

According to Mr Dickson, both Senate and House of Representatives committees met and adopted the House’s version.

He said the committee recommended the version, which retained ‘Peace Corps of Nigeria as the title.

The lawmaker said the highlight of the adopted report was clause 38 (1) of the version passed by the Senate, which conflicted with the version passed by the House of Representatives as contained under clause 38 (1).

The Senate’s version seeks the dissolution of the existing Peace Corps of Nigeria and National Unity and Peace Corps. While the House of Representatives’ version of the bill solely recommended the dissolution of the current Peace Corps of Nigeria to be transformed into the Nigerian Peace Corps when assented to by President Muhammadu Buhari.

The conference report clarified that for a bill to become an act of parliament in Nigeria, it must pass through the two chambers of the National Assembly.

This is a criterion that the National Unity and Peace Corps bill could not attain because it was not debated, unlike that of the Peace Corps of Nigeria, which was debated and passed by the two chambers.

(NAN)