SAN FRANCISCO, September 22, (THEWILL) – The Minister of Information and Culture Lai Mohammed has declared that the ‘Water Bill’ is not a subterfuge reintroduction of RUGA
Mohammed made the clarification at a joint briefing with the Minister of Water Resources, Engr. Suleiman Adamu in Abuja.
The Information Minister said that the bill was not designed to cause water wars in the country but rather a panacea to likely water conflicts in the country. He added that critics of the bill have either not read it or might be mischievous. “There is no hidden agenda behind the bill. It is not a subterfuge reintroduction of RUGA”, he said.
According to Mohammed, “there is nothing new about the National Water Resources Bill which is an amalgamation of Water Resources Laws that have been in existence for a long time. The bill, the, the Minister said is an amalgamation of ‘Water Resources Act, Cap W2 LFN 2004’; the ‘River Basin Development Authority Act, Cap R9 LFN 2004’; the ‘Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (Establishment) Act, Cap N1100A, LFN 2004’ and the ‘National Water Resources Institute Act, Cap N83 LFN 2004’.
So, “why are the laws being re-packaged as the National Water Resources Bill 2020? The answer is that they are being re-enacted with necessary modifications to bring them in line with current global trends as well as best practices in Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM)”, he added.
The overall objective of “this amalgamation is the efficient management of the Water Resources Sector for the economic development of Nigeria and the well-being of its citizens. The Bill provides for professional and efficient management of all surface and ground water for the use of the people (i.e. for domestic and non-domestic use, irrigation, agricultural purposes, generation of hydro-electric energy, navigation, fisheries and recreation.
“The Bill will ensure that the nation’s water resources are protected, used, developed, conserved, managed and controlled in a sustainable manner for the benefit of all persons. Critics contend that the Bill is aimed at taking the resources of a certain part of the country for the use of herders. In other words, the Federal Government is seeking to implement RUGA by subterfuge. We also want to state that the Bill is for the good of the nation, and has no hidden agenda whatsoever”, the Minister said.
Adamu on his part said, the bill was sent to all the states for concurrence. He added that the bill predated the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari. This was never “a Buhari bill, it is a bill for Nigeria. It started 2008 long before the President thought of winning election.” he added.
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