By Hamilton Nwosa(Head, The New Diplomat’s Polling, Research and data desk)
Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed has criticized opponents of the current national water resources bill as ‘anti-people’ , stressing that they lack proper understanding of the protocols and provisions of the well-thought out bill.
Alhaji Lai Mohammed who was speaking at a press briefing in Abuja on Tuesday explained that the Water Resources Bill is simply an amalgamation of old Laws that have been in existence over time. According to the Minister it is only “ people who are anti-people are those against this bill.”
The Minister who was in company of his Water Resources Counterpart, Alhaji Suleiman Adamu, said the provisions of the bill would provide for a more robust, effective and efficient management of Water throughout the country, advising that the main aim of the retooled bill is to enhance effective management.
He said: “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 groundwater 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. Among other benefits, the bill:
“– provides for the creation of an enabling environment for public and private sector investment
“– provides for capacity building processes to foster good governance
“– Establishes water use and licensing framework to ensure sustainable financing for Water Sector Development from tariffs.”
It would be recalled that since the introduction of the bill, some activists including Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka have opposed the bill on various grounds. Prof Soyinka had advised the Federal government to drop the idea of the bill, alleging that it is anti-people.
But speaking on Tuesday, Alhaji Lai Mohammed said there is no hidden motive behind the bill, saying given the merits and well-intentioned motives behind the bill, the federal government was not going back on it in sharp opposition to Soyinka and other critics who have expressed reservations about the provisions of the bill.
He said: “This bill is only trying to provide a framework for implementing that provision. The regulatory provisions of the bill require that commercial borehole drillers obtain a licence. The code of practice for water well drillers issued by the Standards Organisation of Nigeria and the National Water Resources Institute (NWRI) in 2010 already requires this. The code provides technical requirements that a driller must possess to undertake drilling as well as information on each borehole to be provided to the national database.
“That code, however, requires the license to be issued by the NWRI in Kaduna. This bill provides for such licenses to now be issued by the states, under delegation of the national regulator, the Water Resources Regulatory Commission.”
According to Lai Mohammed, the regulation of borehole is an international subject matter, contending that most African countries, and developed international jurisdictions regulate its process and mechanism as a commercial abstraction.
He added: “Regulating abstraction of large volumes of water is necessary because groundwater abstraction is an activity that has environmental and ecological impact. We are therefore using this opportunity to appeal to Nigerians to avail themselves of the provisions of the bill to avoid being misled by those who have chosen to politicise it. We also want to state that the bill is for the good of the nation, and has no hidden agenda whatsoever.”
