The Federal Government is not backing out on the proposed National Water Resources Bill 2020 currently on the table of lawmakers the National Assembly.
Those who are opposing the bill are not conversant with its details, the Minister of Water Resources, Suleiman Adamu and his Information and Culture counterpart, Alhaji Lai Mohammed said on Tuesday.
The bill is contrary to the speculations that the southern part of the country will benefit more than the North, because the largest proportion of freshwater supply in the country is from the North.
They said there is nothing new about the bill since it is an amalgamation of water resources laws which have been in existence for a long time.
The laws include Water Resources Act, Cap W2 LFN 2004, River Basin Development Authority Act, Cap R9 LFN 2004, Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (Establishment) Act, Cap N1100A, LFN 2004 and National Water Resources Institute Act, Cap N83 LFN 2004.
Mohammed said the laws were being re-enacted with necessary modifications to bring them in line with current global trends, as well as best practices in Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM).
“The overall objective of this amalgamation is the efficient management of the water resources sector for the economic development of the country and the well-being of its citizens.
The information minister said the bill does not seek to seize control of water resources from state governments because it is already on the exclusive list. He added that the Code of Practice for water well drillers issued by the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and the NWRI in 2010 already require commercial borehole drillers to obtain licence before proceeding with such activity.
“Please, note that borehole regulation is an international standard for abstraction of large volumes of water. Most countries in Africa and almost every developed country regulates commercial abstraction.
“It is also important to note that there is no requirement for licensing of domestic abstraction. Regulating abstraction of large volumes of water is necessary because groundwater abstraction is an activity that has environmental and ecological impact,” he added.
Mohammed also clarified that the bill does not negate the Land Use Act, because it clearly states that land required by any of the institutions established in the bill will be obtained in accordance with the Land Use Act (i.e with governor’s consent).
On the fear that the bill is aimed at taking the resources of a certain part of the country for the use of herders or that the Federal Government is seeking to implement RUGA by subterfuge, Mohammed said “this is not the intent of the bill and it is not even possible, as the bill reiterates the fact that land can only be acquired by any of the institutions established in accordance with the Land Use Act.”