Ms Ezekwesili urges the Senate and the House of Representatives not to pass the controversial water resources bill.
Oby Ezekwesili, a former Minister of Education, has opposed the Water Resources bill, saying the legislation has the potential to deepen over-centralisation of resources at the centre.
In a thread of tweets via her verified Twitter handle on Thursday, Ms Ezekwesili urged the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, not to pass the bill.
By her rejection of the bill, Ms Ezekwezili joins a growing list of other prominent Nigerians, including Nobel Laureate, Wole Soyinka, Human Rights lawyer, Femi Falana, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, and Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State, who have spoken against the bill.
A major highlight of the bill which has been most criticised is its provision seeking to give the federal government the exclusive right to surface and underground water affecting more than one state.
Exclusive legislative list already overloaded -- Ezekwesili
In her tweets critiising the bill, Ms Ezekwesili said there was no basis to add to the federal government's responsibilities with its poor performance in handling centrally managed resources.
"I have read through the Water Resources Bill and sincerely advise @nassnigeria @SPNigeria @NGRSenate @DrAhmadLawan @HouseNGR @SpeakerGbaja to not pass it," she stated in the tweets, adding, "There's simply too much going on in those proposals that must be unpacked.
Deepening centralisation? No please."
She said a core question that must be answered to test the appropriateness of the bill is: "How well has the Center- that is, the Federal Government @NigeriaGov performed on all centralised management of resources and institutions that are best localised?"
Ms Ezekwesili who said reading through the bill comes with a "serious headache" and likened the bill to a military decree.
"The intent, content and tone showed a complete lack of capacity to learn from our present failures in Governance. The law proposed could have been a dressed-up Military Decree. Please don't pass it @nassnigeria."
She identified other things lacking in the bill to include "capacity to research, propose, dialogue and design effective laws that help us govern our Shared Assets like waters, efficiently and equitably, in our Federation".
She called for more work on the draft bill, appealing to both the Senate and the House of Representatives "not rush the Water Resources Bill". "It would be another Frankenstein Monster that will do the country no good."
Highlights of the bill
Section 2 of the bill seeks to put the right to surface and underground water affecting more than one state in the hands of the federal government.
States are allowed to make provisions for the use, management and control of water resources occurring solely within the boundaries of the state in line with guidelines provided by the bill.
The bill proposes getting authorisation in the form of licences for accessing water for commercial use but grants free access without prior authorisation for household water consumption, water for livestock, subsistence farming and customary use.
Also, the bill seeks to establish the National Council on Water Resources with the Minister of Water Resources as Chairman and Commissioners of Water Resources of states as members of the council.
Furthermore, the bill seeks to establish the National Water Resources Regulatory Commission. One of the responsibilities of the commission includes granting licences for use of water across state lines.
Section 62(c) provides that licence must be obtained for the construction of boreholes for commercial purposes.
Journey through National Assembly
The bill was introduced to the National Assembly in 2016 by then Chairman House Committee on Water Resources, Ahman Pategi from Kwara State. However, an executive bill was later introduced in 2017, which was passed by the House but hit a stumbling block in the Senate.
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In 2020, the bill was again introduced to the House and referred to the Committee of the Whole. Two months after, the House was forced to rescind its decision after a point of privilege raised by Ben Mzondu (PDP, Benue), who cited procedural error in the reintroduction of the bill.
Last month, the bill was regazzetted by the Chairman of the House Committee on Water Resources, Sada Soli (APC, Katsina). He claimed that the bill is a reviewed version approved by the governors.
However, the governors, in a communique issued at the end of the 5th teleconference meeting of Nigerian Governors' Forum (NGF), on Tuesday, rejected the bill.
"It is inconsistent with the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria," the communique reads in part.
Last week, Mr Soli announced that the copies of the bill will be shared to members of the House for thorough scrutiny by the members.
