Water Resources Bill: History Beckons on Gbajabiamila

Some members of House of Representatives who are determined to cede the ownership of Nigeria’s river banks and the surrounding lands to the federal government for the resettlement of foreign herdsmen recently flew a kite with impeachment threat against the Speaker of the House, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, to cow him to submission for easy passage of the obnoxious Water Resources Bill. Ejiofor Alike writes that with last week’s rejection of the bill by the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Gbajabiamila should stand firm against this relentless attempt to deny some parts of the country the commercial use of their God-given water resources the same way the people of Niger Delta were denied the control of the oil and gas resources 

A few lawmakers who are desperate to ensure the passage of the vexatious Water Resources Bill recently flew a kite with impeachment threat against the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, should he fail to support the bill during its second reading.

This bill almost tore the eighth National Assembly and other Nigerians apart, a few years ago.

When the bill was passed for the first reading a few weeks ago in the House, no member had seen a copy, except those behind it. This had prompted Gbajabiamila to direct that every lawmaker should get a copy of the bill to study it ahead of the second reading debate.

This controversial bill, which has the backing of President Muhammadu Buhari and the Senate President, Dr. Ahmad Lawan, among others, was first introduced during the tenure of Hon. Yakubu Dogara as the Speaker of the House of Representatives. But it was rejected and thrown out.

In October 2020, the bill was curiously reintroduced into the Gbajabiamila-led House through what many had described as “the backdoor.”  But following the uproar that erupted due to the fraudulent reintroduction, the sponsors were forced to withdraw it. With few months to the end of the Buhari’s tenure, the lawmakers and their backers have launched the third but most audacious attempt to ram what many Nigerians see as evil bill down their throat. 

Why are Nigerians angry with this bill and their sponsors?  Most Nigerians are currently clamouring for resource control and devolution of power to the states and local governments.  But the suspicious bill seeks to empower the federal government to control all water resources in the country, including rivers, streams, lakes and even underground water.

Those opposed to the bill argue that the federal government should concentrate efforts on providing security and leave water resources management for the states and local governments.

The bill is also seen by many Nigerians as one of the many ploys devised by the Buhari-led administration to seize the Benue Valley, banks of River Niger and River Benue, surrounding lands and the entire water resources of indigenous Nigerians for the benefit of foreign herders. These rampaging herdsmen were believed to have been brought from all parts of Africa to settle in Nigeria as their permanent home, in furtherance of their alleged territorial expansionism agenda.

 When the previous attempts to create Ruga, cattle colonies, and grazing reserves failed, the Minister of Water Resources, Mr. Suleiman Adamu and other sponsors of the agenda, saw a fresh opportunity in the proposed legislation, which was originally envisaged by former President Olusegun Obasanjo-led administration.

 However, the Obasanjo’s government and successive administrations abandoned the idea due to the emerging threats and the clamour for power devolution. Since Adamu and others saw the opportunity to implement the failed Ruga through the bill, they have been pursuing the bill as if their lives and the survival of Nigeria depend on it.

When the bill was introduced in the Dr. Bukola Saraki-led Senate, the then Senate Minority Leader, Senator Godswill Akpabio, had mobilised other southern senators to throw the bill out. But Akpabio later joined the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). When he appeared before Lawan-led Senate for his ministerial screening, Lawan had shockingly told him to go and liaise with Adamu to ensure that the bill is passed, stressing that the bill “must be passed.” 

Lawan’s utterances had raised fears that the Senate must pass the bill once it gets to the upper chamber even if only five lawmakers are in support. Adamu further raised further suspicions on the ulterior motive of the sponsors of the bill when he told the Senate during his screening that his greatest regret as minister during Buhari’s first tenure was the non-passage of the bill.

Nigerians are also angry with the bill because the federal government wants to control the water resources the same way it is controlling the oil and gas resources at the detriment of the oil-producing Niger Delta region.  One of the provocative provisions of the bill is that Nigerians must obtain permits in Abuja and also pay taxes to the federal government before drilling boreholes at their backyards for commercial use of water.

 Section 120 of the bill makes it compulsory for Nigerians to obtain a driller’s permit before sinking a borehole in their homes.

Southern Nigeria in particular, is also opposed to the bill because the federal government wants to use it to deprive them of their God-given water resources.

When the sponsors sneaked the bill into the Gbajabiamila-led House in October 2020, they were forced to withdraw it but they refused to give up. They reintroduced the offensive bill a few weeks ago at the House.

When a member of the House from Benue, Hon. Mark Gbillah, reminded his colleagues that most Nigerians had earlier rejected the bill, the Chairman of the House Committee on Water Resources, Hon. Sada Soli (APC/Katsina), told him that all the 36 governors contributed in the drafting of the new bill.

The chief promoters of the bill at the House are: Deputy Speaker, Hon. Ahmed Wase (APC/Plateau); the Chairman of the House Committee on Rules and Business, Hon. Abubakar Fulata (APC/Jigawa); and Soli.

Soli further added that the minutes of the meeting with the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) had been attached to the bill. On his part, Gbajabiamila, who was being overwhelmed by pressure from the sponsors, told Gbillah that Ortom supported the new bill.

But Ortom has since denied the claim and described as “evil” its re-introduction at the House.

The governors of the 36 states of the federation have also last Tuesday disowned the fraudulent claim by the sponsors of the bill.

In a communiqué issued at end of the 5th teleconference meeting, the governors kicked against the bill because of what they described as its inconsistencies with the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

By telling lies against Ortom and the 35 other governors, the sponsors of the bill have demonstrated the extent they can go to get the bill passed. It is clear to the governors that the bill is dead on arrival because the motive of the sponsors is evil and unpatriotic.

The governors know that no amount of review will produce an acceptable bill because any reviewed bill must contain the hidden agenda of the sponsors.  However, the sponsors will not give up. 

 In a point of order raised on Tuesday, the Chairperson of the Northern Caucus of the House, Hon. Sarki Ardar denied that the caucus was planning to remove Gbajabiamila over the controversial bill. Nobody had expected the lawmakers to publicly admit such alleged plot. The sponsors merely flew a kit to cow Gbajabiamila.

All the speaker needs to do is to stand firm as the position of the governors has reconfirmed that the bill is being sponsored in bad faith.

The federal government should also not be allowed to mismanage Nigeria’s water resources the way it destroyed the country’s oil and gas resources. Water resources should be under the states and local governments.