L- R: AUPCTRE National President, Comrade Benjamin Anthony, Sofiri Joab- Peterside, the keynote speaker, CAPPA Executive Director, Akinbode Oluwafemi.
The cozy Sandralia Hotel, Jabi in Abuja was the rallying point for the civil society groups and labour, who, like many Nigerians, condemned the government’s plan to privatise water via the obnoxious National Water Resource Bill, which is being planned to be re-presented to the House of Representatives.
At the townhall meeting, which was jointly organsed by Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) and the Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations Civil Service Technical and Recreational Services Employees (AUPCTRE) on September 20, 2021, participants unanimously agreed that the proposed bill was evil and anti-people.
Among other things, they reminded the Nigerian government of the Resolution of the United Nations General Assembly of July 28, 2010, stressing that the Resolutin recognized the human right to water and sanitation and the importance of clean drinking water and sanitation to the realisation of all human rights makes it mandatory for the Nigerian government to remove every obstacle to citizens’ access.
While addressing participants, Mr. Akinbode Oluwafemi, the executive director of CAPPA pointed out that from the second to the last quarter of year 2020 there was national outcry about the obnoxious provisions of the Bill and the manner through which its promoters in the Ministry of Water Resources and the National Assembly tried to force it on the nation.
Oluwafemi said that even after the Bill was stepped down, its promoters have continued to push for its representation hence labour and civil society actors will continue mobilizing against it till the government listens and institutes a fresh process that will incorporate the inputs and demands of the people.
Solidarity messages were received from notable labour, civil society actors and critical allies including Public Services International (PSI), Joint Action Front (JAF), Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), among others.
The keynote address titled: Resource Management Dialogue Within a Federal State Versus National Water Bill, was delivered by Dr. Sofiri Joab-Peterside of the University of Port Harcourt, who dwelt on how the Nigerian government continues to brush aside the genuine yearnings of Nigerians and instead, tries to impose neoliberal policies on the citizenry. Read More >>>