Tag Water Bill

Bill
By Tosin Kolade
Abuja, May 21, 2019 (NAN) The Society for Water and Sanitation (NEWSAN) has pledged to sustain advocacy with the National Assembly to prioritise the passage of the National Water Resources Bill.

The National Coordinator of the group, Mr Benson Attah, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday that this was necessary following reports of poor water supply in the country.

According to him, the bill will create room for both private sector investment and employment opportunities for the people.

The House of Representatives passed the bill early in 2018, the Senate has not done same due to opposing views to the provisions of the bill.

“We have not heard about the Water Resources Bill, partly because of this transition, sadly, the chairman of the house committee on water resources, is not coming back, so when they reconstitute the committee, we will have an audience with both of them.

“We will continue to advocate and drive the process, we will also see what support would be given to the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene budget at both senate and house committee levels.

He said that the National Water Resources Bill was consistent with the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Land Use Act, and should not be politicised for whatever reason.

Attah said that the Federal Ministry of Water Resources had realised that with the current situation of water supply and sanitation services, the country would not meet its target in the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, hence the declaration of a state of emergency.

He said that political will and commitment should be from top to bottom approach to ensure that leadership supports policy implementation for the overall goal of improving access to water.

He said that political leaders ought to realise that access to water was a basic right of the citizens, adding that issues relating to water supply should not be politicised as a mere campaign promises.

The Minister of Water Resources, Mr Suleiman Adamu, has at a recent forum urged Nigerians and lawmakers to stop politicising the water resources bill, saying its benefits were enormous and for the public good.

He said that the overall objective of the bill was geared toward the efficient management of the water resources sector for the economic development of Nigeria and the wellbeing of its citizens.

“The existing laws in the sector include the 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 National Water Resources Institute Act, Cap N83 LFN 2004.

“However, these laws are being re-enacted with necessary modifications in the new bill so as to actualise current global trends and best practices in Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM),’’ he said.

Adamu said that the National Water Resources Bill, which was drafted in 2006, had passed through series of consultations among stakeholders up to 2008.

He, however, added that since that time, successive administrations had failed to give it priority attention until now.

The bill provides for professional and efficient management of all surface water and groundwater for the use of all the citizens.

The Federal Government intends to ensure through the provisions of the proposed law that “the water resources of the nation are protected, used, developed, conserved, managed and controlled in a sustainable manner for the benefit of all persons, in accordance with its constitutional mandate.’’

The bill provides for the creation of an enabling environment for public and private sector investment.

It also provides for capacity building processes to foster good governance, while establishing a water use and licensing framework to ensure sustainable finance for the water sector. (NAN)
TAK/GY
=======

Edited by Grace Yussuf

Bill
By Tosin Kolade
Abuja, Dec. 23, 2018 (NAN) The Minister of Water Resources, Mr Suleiman Adamu has called on the Senate to pass the National Water Bill, saying it is consistent with the Constitution of Nigeria and should not be politicised.

Adamu, while fielding questions at the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Forum in Abuja on Sunday, noted that the bill was for the overall benefit of Nigerians.
He said that the House of Representatives had passed the bill early in 2018, and was waiting on the Senate to do same, urging Nigerians to disregard misleading allegations, which were evident from the various commentaries from those opposing its passage.

He said that reports in the media appeared to have neglected the provisions and the benefits of the bill which was for the development, management and efficient use of the nation’s water resources in line with global best practices.

The minister described the oppositions to the bill as unnecessary controversy and diversionary.
• CUE IN AUDIO 1

“This is not a `Buhari water bill’, this is just a continuation of governance, this bill was drafted in 2006, the final draft came out in 2008, it went through stakeholders consultation in all the six geopolitical zones of this country.

“And then, nothing was heard of it, when we came on board, at our retreat, with all the major water stakeholders, one of the messages I got was that passing that bill would transform the sector, would ginger up the sector from the comatose state that it was.

“So we picked it up as one of the issues that we will promote under our roadmap, we took it to the Federal Executive Council, it passed, we took it to the Attorney General’s office, it was vetted, cleaned up and the president sent it to the National Assembly.

“The House of Representatives held its public hearing, passed the bill, and now it’s the turn of the senate, and at the senate, questions were raised, and people turn the whole thing upside down, calling it a Buhari bill, that the idea is to commandeer the rivers and riverbanks for Fulani Herdsmen.

“This bill seeks to give a fair and equitable distribution of water to the people of this country, there are areas of scarce water, it protects them, there are areas with excess water, it also protects them.’’
• CUE OUT AUDIO
Adamu said that the bill was not a new law; rather an amalgamation of Water Resources Laws that had been in existence as enshrined in LFN 2004 to promote efficient use of water resources and reduce duplication of efforts in line with international best practices.
He appealed to stakeholders and Nigerians in general to have faith in the bill as it was for the good of the nation, saying when passed into law would better serve and provide for the enhancement of the Nigeria Water Sector in line with global best practices.

NAN reports that the bill provides for professional and efficient management of all surface and ground water for the use of all people.

The bill is for both domestic and non-domestic use, irrigation, agricultural purposes, generation of hydro-electric energy, navigation, fisheries and recreation.

The Federal Government aims through the provisions of the law, to protect the nation’s water resources; to use, develop, conserve, manage and controll in a sustainable manner for the benefit of all persons in accordance with its constitutional mandate.

The Water Resources Bill will also provide for the creation of an enabling environment for public and private sector investment.

It also provides for capacity building processes to foster good governance while establishing a water use and licensing framework to ensure sustainable financing for water sector. (NAN)
TAK/GY
=======
Edited by Grace Yussuf

Bill
By Tosin Kolade
Abuja, Nov.  15, 2018 (NAN) The Federal Ministry of Water Resources has called on the Senate to pass the National Water Bill, saying it is consistent with Nigeria’s Constitution and the Land Use Act.

The Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Dr Musa Ibrahim, who made this call at the ongoing Nigeria Media Week in Abuja, said that the bill was for the overall benefit of Nigerians and should not be politicised.

He said that the House of Representatives had passed the bill early 2018, and was waiting for the Senate to do same.

Ibrahim urged Nigerians to disregard misleading allegations, which were evident from the various commentaries noticed from those opposing the bill.

He said that the bill was not a new law; rather it was an amalgamation of water resources laws which had been in existence as enshrined in Water Resources Act, Cap. W2 LFN 2004.

He said that this was to promote efficient use of water resources and reduce duplication of efforts in line with international best practices.

He said that reports in the media appeared to have neglected the provisions of the bill meant for the development, management and efficient use of the nation’s water resources in line with global best practices.

“I want to let the media know that this bill did not just drop from heaven and it is not being pushed down the throat of Nigerians, it has gone through several stages, the water bill was not started by the Buhari administration.

“We should not look at it from that narrow prism, and we should not pull political capital out of it.

“A lot of people who are making comments about the bill have not even read it. I challenge you media people to please get copies of the bill because if you read it and understand it, you will be able to defend it.

“The house of representatives has already passed this bill,  the Senate is yet to pass it,  and that is where the problem is,  we are making every effort to make sure this the bill is passed at the Senate so that we will have just one body.

“Some of the Senators who we have been talking to are saying the Federal Government want to control everything about water, that is not true, so I challenge the media to read the bill so that they will understand it better.”

The permanent secretary further appealed to stakeholders and Nigerians in general to have faith in the bill as it was for the good of the nation; saying when passed into law it would better serve the water sector and provide for the enhancement of the sector in line with global best practices.

He stressed that the overall objective was geared toward efficient management of the Water Resources Sector for the economic development of the country and the wellbeing of its citizens.

“These laws are 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 National Water Resources Institute Act, Cap N83 LFN 2004.

“These laws are being re-enacted with necessary modifications in the new bill to actualise current global trends and best practices in Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM).’’

Ibrahim added that the bill, drafted in 2006 had passed through series of consultations among stakeholders up to 2008, since then it had received no priority attention by successive administrations till date.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the bill provides for professional and efficient management of all surface and ground water for the use of all people.

The bill is for domestic and non-domestic use, irrigation, agricultural purposes, generation of hydro-electric energy, navigation, fisheries and recreation.

The bill also provides for capacity building processes to foster good governance while establishing a water use and licensing framework to ensure sustainable financing for the water sector. (NAN)

TAK/EAL/GY
==========

Edited by Ekemini Ladejobi/Grace Yussuf