A presidential aspirant of the National Conscience Party, NCP, Dr Wilson Ikubese, has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to assent to the bill of the Peace Corps of Nigeria (PCN)
Ikubese said President Buhari’s refusal to assent to the bill will cause more frustration among the teeming unemployed Nigerian youths.
Ikubese who addressed Journalists at the Ondo State NUJ Press Center in Akure, the state capital said the President must prevent unemployed youths from committing suicide by assenting to the bill.
He said “The President needs to reconsider his stance and assent to the bill, so as to save over one hundred and fifty Nigerian youths who had hoped that the Peace Corps of Nigeria would provide means of livelihood for them
“Taking about 150,000 youths off the unemployment market and engaging them productively to the benefit of society is a venture that the administration should be proud to champion, having promised to create jobs ab initio
“The National Assembly passed the Peace Corps bill, giving hope to the youths who have since been serving voluntarily with the Corps, hoping to be on a regular salary pay roll as soon as Mr President assents to the bill.”
Ikubese ,however, said “the hope of these youths and their many dependents was dashed when President Buhari withheld assent to the bill,citing security and financial concerns.
“Mr President fears that the burden of the monthly remuneration is that which the federal Government cannot bear at this time of scarce resources.
“It is a known fact that today, in not a few cases, as much as 30 police officers are attached to a single individual! Nigeria has a population of about 186 million people and a Police population of about 370,000
“Of the 370,000 a staggering 80% of this number are assigned to private citizens, politicians, businessmen and private enterprises, leaving only 20% for the core police duties of peace and security
“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
“Besides, the PCN can also serve in information gathering, a missing link in the Chibok and recent Dapchi kidnap scenarios,” he said.
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