PEACE CORPS:Retired Generals, top politicians lobby Presidency for plum job

By Bode Olagoke
Abuja

As Nigerians anxiously await the presidential assent to the Bill setting up the Nigerian Peace Corps, more than five retired Generals and some top chieftains of the governing All Progressives Congress (APC) are already lobbying the Presidency for appointment as the Corps’ Commandant General.
Blueprint exclusively gathered that the current Commandant Generals of National Unity and Peace Corps (NUPEC), Dr. Chinnedu Nneji, and that of National Peace Corps (NPC), Mr. Dickson Akor, appear to be at loggerheads over who will eventually emerge the overall boss when President Buhari finally gives his assent.
The applications of both NUPEC and NPC were jointly put together and passed as one Bill last year.
When finally assented to by the President, the two organisations will cease to exist as separate bodies.
Dependable Presidency sources told our correspondent that President Buhari is being advised not to consider any of the two current CGs to avoid being accused of bias; hence the lobby by some retired Generals and top politicians.
Our correspondent further gathered that two serving ministers are also involved in fronting for external candidates to be appointed as the CG.

According to a source, “the National Assembly has done its own beat by passing the Bill on for presidential assent which will come. How soon, I don’t know. But I can reliably tell you that the Presidency is seriously considering its take-off because this is one major source of reducing unemployment.
“But with what appears a crisis between the two bodies, National Unity and Peace Corps, and National Peace Corps, married into one, the Presidency does not want to be seen as favouring over the other.
“As things stand today, some retired Generals are scheming for the CG’s position, so also are notable APC chieftains. Again, this does not leave out about two serving ministers who are also backing some external candidates. Except they put their house in order, the helmsmen of those two bodies might end up losing the job to external candidates,” revealed another source.

Further investigations revealed that while NUPEC claims to be under the Ministry of Interior, the NPC associates itself with the Ministry of Youth Development.
But the NUPEC boss, had in an interview with Blueprint some weeks ago, denied any rift between the two bodies, saying there was total peace in the Peace Corps.
According to him, once the President signs the Bill, the two outfits will be collapsed into one with just a common uniform.
“It is that Presidential assent that we are now waiting for. But prior to this time we have been existing as different agencies, now because President has not signed the Bill, that is why you noticed that we are still wearing different uniforms. But technically, we are one and until
he signs the Bill, we will continue like this.
“First of all, I want to start by telling you that we are all Nigerians and because we believe in the same thing that is peaceful resolution of crises, controlling all those issues that will lead to crises and making sure that Nigerians live better lives as citizens.
“So, whatever differences you see are individual differences, but collectively and objectively, we are one. And as you may see now, as soon as the President gives assent to this Bill, the two organisations will bring their staff strength together and work with a common purpose of trying to make sure that the organisation exists and the country unites.

“Again, where there are crises, we support the idea that resolutions should be reached, dialogue should be the panacea for peace and that any time there is crisis, we should find a way of resolving it.
“It won’t be proper for us as peace makers not to demonstrate that to our people. My approach has always been that if there are any problems, any crises, any misunderstanding, we will toe the path of dialogue and the path of peace. “For National Peace Corps and National Unity and Peace Corps, today we are now Nigerian Peace Corps and one.”