• It ’ s being opposed by those who have access to media – Minister • 8 th Senate rejected proposed law , we will kill it again , vows Abaribe The Federal Government on Tuesday defended the National Water Resources Bill 2020, saying it was being opposed by people who had access to the media. It said it would go ahead and ensure the passage of bill because it would be for the good of the country . The Minister of Information and Culture , Lai Mohammed, said these at a press conference he addressed with the Minister of Water Resources , Suleiman Adamu, in Abuja He said critics of the bill were ill-informed because they had not read it. Prominent Nigerians and groups including Nobel Laureate, Prof Wole Soyinka , the Ohanaeze Ndigbo and Afenifere had kicked against the reintroduction of the bill , saying it was a plot by the President Muhammadu Buhari to seize people ’ s water resources for Fulani herdsmen . But Mohammed on Tuesday said those condemning the bill either had not read it, did not understand its provisions or they were doing so out of mischief . On his part, Adamu said the bill was never rejected by the eighth Senate as being said in some quarters. Answering questions from journalists , the minister of information said , “ You asked if the government will go ahead with the bill despite the criticism by people and we have just told you that the bill is for the good of the nation . “ Who are the people that you said are against the bill ? They are people who have access to the media. There is nothing that concerns the people of my village or people of your village with this bill . ” Mohammed said the bill was for the good of the nation , adding that it had no hidden agenda whatsoever . He said , “ We cannot rule out deliberate mischief by some of those who have been portraying the bill as a new source of conflict . “ We are , therefore , using this opportunity to appeal to Nigerians to avail themselves of the provisions of the bill to avoid being misled by those who have chosen to politicise it. ” “ When passed into law, the National Water Resources Bill 2020 will provide for the enhancement of the Nigeria ’ s water sector in line with global best practices. ” Faulting the claims by critics , the minister said there was nothing new about the bill which he described as an amalgamation of water resources laws that had been in existence for a long time . He listed the existing laws that made up the bill as the Water Resources Act , Cap W 2 LFN 2004; the River Basin Development Authority Act , Cap R 9 LFN 2004; the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency ( Establishment ) Act , Cap N 1100A , LFN 2004; and the National Water Resources Institute Act , Cap N 83 LFN 2004. He said the different laws were being re – packaged as the National Water Resources Bill 2020 because they were being re- enacted with necessary modifications to bring them in line with current global trends as well as best practices in integrated water resources management . Mohammed explained, “ The bill provides for professional and efficient management of all surface and ground water for the use of the people ( i . e . for domestic and non -domestic use , irrigation, agricultural purposes , generation of hydro-electric energy , navigation , fisheries and recreation) . “ The bill will ensure that the nation ’ s water resources are protected , used , developed , conserved, managed and controlled in a sustainable manner for the benefit of all persons. “ Among other benefits , the bill provides for the creation of an enabling environment for public and private sector investment; provides for capacity building processes to foster good governance ; establishes water use and licensing framework to ensure sustainable financing for water sector development from tariffs. ” “ The first thing to say is that many of those criticising the bill have not even bothered to read its provisions , thus depending on second -hand information to reach their conclusions. Those who have read it have perhaps done so perfunctorily . ” The minister thereafter picked some of the points so far raised by critics of the bill and responded to them “ with a view to clearing any misgiving and also enlightening Nigerians. ” On the claim that the Federal Government would take over the nation ’ s water resources by licensing and commercialising the use of water, Mohammed said that was not the intention because the current Water Resources Act , 2004 already makes provision for this . He explained, “ This bill is only trying to provide a framework for implementing that provision . The regulatory provisions of the bill require that commercial borehole drillers obtain a licence . “ The Code of Practice for Water Well Drillers issued by the Standards Organisation of Nigeria and the NWRI in 2010 already requires this . “ The code provides technical requirements that a driller must possess to undertake drilling as well as information on such borehole to be provided to the national database. “ That code however requires the licence to be issued by the NWRI in Kaduna. This bill provides for such licenses to now be issued by the states , under delegation of the national regulator , the Water Resources Regulatory Commission. ” He said the borehole regulation was an international standard for abstraction of large volumes of water , adding that most countries in Africa regulate commercial abstraction. According to him , regulating abstraction of large volume of water is necessary because groundwater abstraction is an activity that has environmental and ecological impact . On critics who argue that the bill

Saudi Arabia will allow the Muslim minor pilgrimage, the Umrah, to gradually resume starting in October, around seven months after it was halted due to the coronavirus pandemic. On Oct. 4, Saudis and foreign residents in the kingdom will be able to perform the Umrah, an Interior Ministry source said in a statement published by the Saudi Press Agency. Only 6,000 pilgrims per day will be allowed to perform the Umrah at the Grand Mosque in Mecca while ensuring social distancing measures are followed. On Oct. 18, the kingdom will allow 15,000 pilgrims to perform the Umrah. Prayers at the Prophet’s Mosque in the city of Medina will also resume then. Muslims abroad will be allowed to start heading to the kingdom for the pilgrimage from Nov. 1, when 20,000 pilgrims per day will be allowed. According to official statistics, more than 19 million pilgrims performed the Umrah in 2019. Starting November, 60,000 worshippers in total will be allowed to pray at the two mosques per day. This remains below the usual capacity of the mosques. The reduced capacity will remain in place until authorities decide that the dangers of the pandemic have passed, the statement added. In March, Saudi Arabia halted the Umrah, which can be undertaken at any time during the year, as part of measures it imposed amid the spread of the novel coronavirus. Pilgrims will be asked to wear a face mask and maintain a physical distance from one other. The Ministry of Hajj and Umrah is developing a mobile application that will be available one week before the Umrah resumes, so that pilgrims can register and book on it. They will also need to follow the guidelines provided there. In July, the kingdom allowed limited number of residents to perform the annual main Hajj pilgrimage. Last week, Saudi Arabia partially lifted a halt on international flights, allowing travel of certain categories of Saudis and foreigners. These categories included Saudi civil servants and military tasked with official assignments abroad, businesspeople, patients, who need medical treatment abroad, and foreigners, who hold valid visas for work, residency and to visit. The official said all restrictions imposed on Saudis’ departure and return to the homeland would be completely lifted as of Jan. 1. In recent weeks, Saudi Arabia has reported a significant drop in virus infection rates. The country has reported so far over 330,000 cases and 4,542 related deaths.

Former Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, has said that Nigeria must diversify its economy in order to address the high rate of poverty and inequality in the country. He also said governments at all levels must invest on human capital development and create enabling environment for investments, instead of borrowing to finance development. Sanusi gave the advice in a presentation during the virtual Kaduna Economic and Investment Summit, on Tuesday. The former Governor of the Central Bank, however, said the Federal Government has minimal role to play in rejigging the economy. “While everyone looks to the federal government for solutions, the truth is that its role in the economy is small – both in absolute and relative terms.’’ Sanusi noted that the nation’s economy has not been diversified, years after the discovery of oil. He added that though Nigeria has generated an increase in wealth from $345 in 1985 to $2,655 in 2015 GDP per capita, but there has been no structural transformation in what the country actually produce. According to him, though the economy is growing, but its non diversification has resulted to the high rate of poverty and high level of inequality in the country. He explained that the difference between African countries and those in Asia is that they have diversified from primary to secondary and tertiary sectors of the global economy. “The major difference is that they have moved on but we have not,’’ he lamented. Sanusi pointed out that Malaysia has the same factors that Nigeria has been using as an excuse for having not developed, adding that both countries are multi-ethnic and have fought wars. The former Emir lamented that Nigeria is still a consumer nation instead of being a producer, by seizing on the investments that the government has done in technology. “Africa’s failure has been in not leveraging on the underlying infrastructure – towers and under sea cables- to catalyse the development of other and new industries,’’ he said. ‘’If you use your smart phone which is made in China and order shoes from France and they are delivered to you at home, what have you actually gained? You are just a consumer,’’ he added. The ex-CBN Governor argued that the same phone can be put to productive use, when it is used to shoot a Nollywood movie and the film clip is distributed. Sanusi noted that the success of Nigeria’s pre-oil economy was based on the dynamism of its trading sector and the diversity of its export base, which ‘’meant that it was less vulnerable to terms of trade shock driven by any one export.”

The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has commenced the demolition of 2,400 shanties in Ruga settlement in Kukwuaba-Wuye District along the corridor of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja. Over 1,000 shacks were removed during the exercise carried out yesterday under heavy security presence by the FCT Development and Control department. The Director of Development and Control department, Muktah Galadima, said the exercise was to checkmate security challenges posed by the threat of Boko Haram as well as kidnapping, and bring orderliness and sanitation to the capital city. The Chairman, FCT Task Force on Sanitation, Ikharo Attah, said the Ruga was growing too fast and becoming notorious for rape and other crimes. According to him, “From my own assessment, what will eventually go here will be about 2,400 structures because even as at today (yesterday), the bulldozers were still working. It is really painful, but the displaced persons should understand that the city centre is not for everybody; they should go to the suburbs.” The Chief Security Officer to the FCT Minister, Ahmed Rashid, said security assessment claimed that 90 per cent of the crimes perpetrated in Wuye and Kukwuaba districts were traced to the shanty settlement, stressing that it was resolved after due diligence from all the security agencies that if the Ruga was removed everybody within this area would be secured. He also stated that some months ago, some people from the shanty attacked and broke four glass windows of a train on test running on the rail line. “It’s good for us (FCTA) to remove the shanties to make sure that the railway corridor is safe and the people in Wuye and Kukwuaba districts as well as the city are secure. ‘The director of Development Control Department has also set up a team to do a follow-up cleaning on a daily routine in conjunction with security agencies, so that this kind of illegal settlement will not come up again. This is the best approach for security control of a city like Abuja,” Rashid said. The Secretary to the Chief of the Ruga Community, Usman Abubakar, conceded they could not question the relevant authorities for demolishing the structures in the settlement. He, however, pleaded with the government to consider them as Nigerian citizens, and assist them to stop slums from thriving having been living in the settlement for more than 25 years.