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FG canvasses support for water resources bill from governors
By Emmanuel Awosika
The Federal Government has started meeting with state governors to convince to discuss the advantage of the National Water Resources Bill.
Minister for Water Resources, Suleiman Adamu, said this on Sunday while speaking with journalists in Abuja on Sunday.
He revealed that a copy of the bill had been sent to all state governors for perusal, adding that the FG planned to initiate meetings with the governors to seek their support for the bill.
He clarified that the bill had nothing to do with the controversial Rural Grazing Law (RUGA) and it comprised 95 percent of existing water laws.
The Minister stated that the Buhari administration had no ulterior motives for pushing the bill, saying it was doing so for the sake of continuity in governance.
According to him, the bill had been in work for more than a decade, having been drafted in 2006 and approved in 2008.
“Based on the discussions we have had with the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), they have asked for a copy which we have given them. We also gave them copies of all the existing laws on water resources.
“We are engaging all other stakeholders, including members of the National Assembly. I am optimistic that the outcome of these engagements will be positive.”
He added that “There is no hidden agenda behind the bill and it is not about RUGA. This is not Buhari’s bill; it is not about Fulani herdsmen or a RUGA bill. It is for the government to manage water resources in this country.
“The bill has been in the works for 12 years. it went through the House of Representatives without any issue until a few observations were raised in the Senate in 2018 and this year.
“The bill is an amalgam of over 95 per cent of the existing laws in line with the international convention on Integrated Water Resources Management which Nigeria subscribed to in 1980.
“In Nigeria today, there are four enabling laws on water resources. These are Water Resources Act (Decree 101 of 1993); the River Basin Development Authority Act; the National Water Resources Institute Act(1985); and Hydrological Development Agency ( 2002) Act.
“Most countries have one statute on water except Nigeria with fragmented laws. The whole idea of the integrated law is to protect the nation’s land against any water development.
“The bill is to merge all existing laws into one booklet, it is an agglomeration of our laws on water. And over 95% of the provisions in bill are from the existing laws.”
Explaining the bill would reform the water sector to the benefit of Nigerians, Adamu urged politicians to put aside their differences and support the law.
“Let us think of our country instead of sentiments. If we reduce everything into politics, we cannot make progress. The bill is in the best interest of Nigerians,” he said.
