AMALGAMATED Union of Public Corporations, Civil Service Technical and
Recreational Services Employees (AUPCTRE) on Tuesday joined the train of resistance to the Water Resources Bill that is before the National Assembly.
AUPCTRE, along with Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA), a non-governmental organisation, in a meeting with the Minister of Water Resources, Engr. Suleiman Adamu, in Abuja insisted that if some sections of the bill which are obviously in support of privatisation are not expunged, the entire bill should be dropped.
The meeting, which was called at the instance of the minister to lobby the union and civil society groups in the sector, saw both AUPCTRE and CAPPA speaking with one voice on the water bill. They both called on the National Assembly to jettison the bill, alleging that it failed to address human rights issues in addition to not enjoying the support of Nigerians.
According to them, if passed into law, the bill will is designed to widely open the doors for private sector concerns to seize the nation’s water resources.
There has been widespread criticism of the bill from all sections of the Nigerian society including Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, Dr Yinka Odumakin, incumbent Benue State governor, Samuel Ortom, and his immediate predecessor, Gabriel Suswam, Afenifere, Ohaneze Ndigbo, and the Ijaw Youth Council, among others.
Comrade Benjamin Anthony, President of AUPCTRE, while speaking at the end of the meeting told journalists that the meeting with the Minister of Water Resources was very frank.
“The minister advanced reasons why the bill should be passed, but we drew his attention to the contentious clauses that must be addressed. We restate our opposition to this anti-people bill and urge the National Assembly to trash it. “The bill fails to address human rights issues and does not enjoy the support of Nigerians,” Comrade Anthony said.
According to him, the bill will dispossess Nigerian citizens of their inherited and cultural rights to water and should therefore be discarded immediately.
On his part, CAPPA’s Director of Programmes, Philip Jakpor said the content of the bill is against the spirit of the July 28, 2010 United Nations General Assembly Resolution which unequivocally recognised access to water and sanitation as a human right.
“Our position remains unchanged; President Buhari should use his good offices to recall this contentious bill from the legislative quarters and kick-start a fresh process which will entail consultation and input from Nigerians from the beginning through the entire process at the National Assembly.”
