There has been a lot of noise in Nigeria recently about the passage or non- passage of the seemingly vexatious Water Resources Bill before the country’s national assembly.

However, the Bill has been thrown out of the lower legislative chamber, the House of Representatives for now after heated debates and exchange of harsh languages by concerned legislators.

“We note that Ijaw life is intertwined with water, and water is the very essence of our livelihood and survival. Therefore this bill is another backdoor attempt to own our resources”.

“It is also an obvious intent to usurp the rights of autonomous federating units, which should be the constitution, to hold the power to regulate the affairs of its people and property within its territory”.

The quotations above are among the resolutions reached at a virtual conference held by the Ijaw Nation Development Group to examine the Bill known as National Water Resources Bill (2020).

The resolutions, signed by Denzil Kentebe and Comrade Joseph Evah, demand an invitation for further consultations, engagement to negotiate for a water resources Bill that protects her strategic interests, for the greater good of all Nigerians.

Sharing the same view, youths from Urhobo ethnic nationality, under the umbrella body of Urhobo Progress Union, Youth Wing, also known as Ukoko R’Ighele R’Urhobo, described the insistence of the Federal Government to go ahead with the National Water Resource Bill as insensitive and a threat to peace.

The youths, represented by their President, Ovie Ebireri, advised the Federal Government to listen to the voice of reason and discard the proposed Bill in the interest of national peace and unity, adding that as youths, he and others will resist its implementation in their areas.

In a similar vein, some stakeholders have continued to express grave concerns about the re-emergence and pursuance of the Bill, which has hitherto, been put to rest by the 8th National Assembly.

Prominent leaders from Southern Nigeria and the Middle Belt, including Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue and Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, have kicked against the Bill.

Also, socio-political organisations, including; PANDEF, Afenifere and Ohanaeze Ndigbo, have condemned the Bill, saying it is an attempt by the Federal Government to secure the lands around the rivers in southern Nigeria, to resettle herdsmen after the Rural Grazing Area (RUGA) initiative was publicly shut down.

Ortom says the provisions of the Bill are at variance with the Land Use Act, and that the bill is a “disguised land-grabbing legislation designed to grant pastoralists unhindered access to river basins, adjacent marine and coastal environments across the country”.

The Bill has continued to gather widespread national opposition to its assent, since it was brought before the 9th National Assembly.

As a result of continued criticisms, the Federal Government has however reassured Nigerians that contrary to the position of some critics, it has no hidden agenda by taking the Bill to the National Assembly.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, at a media briefing to address the issues and controversies trailing the Bill, says there is no ulterior motive in the legislation.



Read complete article here: https://nassvoices.com.ng/2020/10/16/not-yet-uhuru-for-the-national-water-resources-bill/

The bill should be implemented in the North and South West, leave every other regions out of it.

We the better south are not interested.