Ranmilowo Ojalumo
The Centre for Human and Social economic Right (CHSR) has out-rightly condemned the recent re-introduction of the “National Water Resources Bill”, which was rejected by the National Assembly in 2018, saying the bill has an ulterior motive.
In a statement issued and signed on Friday by the National President of the centre, Comrade Alex Omotehinse, and made available to The Fatual Newspaper, the centre cried out, saying the plot to ram the bill through the federal legislature again after it was rejected in 2018 speaks volume of some hidden agendas.
The centre lamented that the bill is most especially disadvantaged to the Southern Region of Nigeria and also aimed at robbing people in a broad day light of their means of livelihood and God given water resources.
CHSR therefore urged the National Assembly to trash the bill immediately. The centre also calls on all well meaning Nigerians to reject the bill. CHSR also called on communities to oppose the bill, insisting that it’s aimed at grabbing land and waterways from the beneficiaries.
The Centre also call for immediate emergency stakeholders’ meeting where every lawmaker at the national assembly will give detail explanation on the bill to the people they represent and point out their roles in it.
The statement reads in part: “The attention of the Centre for Human and Social economic Right (CHSR) has been drawn to the recent re-introduction of the obnoxious “National Water Resources Bill”, which was rejected in 2018 by the National Assembly (NASS).
“We are of the opinion and suspicious that the returning of the Bill has some ulterior motive for pushing it at all cost, because the plot to ram it through the federal legislature speaks volume for some hidden agenda.
“This Bill to us is out to rob many people in broad day light of their means of livelihood; therefore it deserves outright rejection and condemnations because it is to the disadvantage of the indigenous people especially in the Southern region of Nigeria from our God-given water resources.
“The National Assembly is hereby advised to once again, trash the Bill to save the country as the representatives of the people , so as to avoid another round of crisis in the already volatile polity.
“When the Bill was first introduced in the Senate of the 8th Assembly, it generated controversy across the country, because of its desire to have the Federal Government take control of lands and water resources in the country.
“The Bill seeks to bring all water resources (surface and underground) and the banks of the water sources under the control of the Federal Government through its agencies to be established by the Bill.
“Section 13 of the Bill, states, “in implementing the principles under subsection (2) of this section, the institutions established under this Act shall promote integrated water resources management and the coordinated management of land and water resources, surface water and ground water resources, river basins and adjacent marine and coastal environment and upstream and downstream interests.”
“Section 2(1) of the Bill, says: “All surface water and ground water wherever it occurs, is a resource common to all people.’’ the Bill is for passage by the House on their resumption from recess by September 2020. The Bill, if passed into law, will affect the state and local government authorities as well as individuals from making use of the water at their backyard without permit from Abuja.
“This development will lead to serious protest across Nigeria and the result would be water wars, which would be more than the arguments over grazing land and oilfields. The CHSR hereby calls on all well meaning Nigerians, to be ready for a protracted resistance to this move by our lawmakers.
“We are also using this medium to implore all our communities to opposed this anti-people’s bill, it’s aimed at grabbing land and waterways .They should urgently organize an emergency stakeholder sitting for our representatives to demand cogent explanations of this latest move and their roles in it”.
