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Water Resources Bill Has No Hidden Agenda Whatsoever – FG

The federal government has insisted there is no hidden agenda Whatsoever on the passage of the National Water Resources Bill.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, stated this during a press conference on Tuesday.

Mohammed addressed the media along with the Minister of Water Resources, Suleiman Adamu.

The controversial bill was rejected in the 8th Assembly, but has been reintroduced in the 9th National Assembly.

Some groups, including the Nigeria Labour Congress, have called for the bill to be rejected. Nobel laureate, Wole Soyinka, has also been quoted as saying the country will be doomed if the bill makes it into the law books.

But Mohammed has said those criticising the Bill, have “not even bothered to
read its provisions, thus depending on second-hand information to
reach their conclusions.

“Those who have read it have perhaps done so perfunctorily.”

According to him, the new Bill is “an amalgamation of Water Resources Laws that have been in existence for a long time.”

He added that the “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.

“Critics contend that the Bill is aimed at taking the resources of a part of the country for the use of herders. In other words, the federal government is seeking to implement RUGA by subterfuge. We also want to state that the Bill is for the good of the nation and has no hidden agenda whatsoever.”