The Senate has rejected the controversial national Water Resources Bill 2023 after it was listed for concurrence on the Order Paper for consideration and passage on Tuesday.
The Senate House
The rejection of the bill followed a point of order raised by Senator Gabriel Suswam, who pointed out that the proposed legislation contained some obnoxious provisions that remained unclear just like the 2020 version.
He said the 2022 draft of the bill still vested the control of ground and surface water in the hands of the Federal government.
The proposed legislation seeks to concentrate the control of water resources around Rivers Niger and Benue which cut across 19 states in the hands of the Federal Government.
If passed, states that would have be affected are Lagos, Ondo, Ogun, Edo, Delta, Kwara, Kogi, Benue, Anambra, Enugu, Akwa Ibom, Adamawa, Taraba, Nasarawa, Niger, Imo, Rivers, Bayelsa, Plateau, and Kebbi.
The proposed legislation also makes it mandatory for one to obtain a license before using water that is considered public, for domestic or commercial purposes.
The House of Representatives had passed the bill in 2020 amidst suspicion by some Federal lawmakers.
(Source: eyewitnessngr.com)
