By CHARLES IWUOHA

The Coalition of South-East Youth Leaders (COSEYL), a socio-political youth group in the South-East geo-political zone has condemned alleged attempt by certain vested interests within the presidency and some members of National Assembly to push through a bill meant to unduly grab land from genuine owners.

The group said that reintroduction of the Water Resources Bill in the ninth assembly is anti-federalism.

A press statement signed by Hon. Goodluck Egwu Ibem, President General and Comrade Kanice Igwe, Secretary of the group, stated: “In the spirit of federalism (which Nigeria adopted since 1954),federal government cannot solely and singularly own assets such as land.

“The Coalition regrets that the bill now being reintroduced was contemporaneous with grazing bill which Nigerians saw as a design to grab their lands and resources attached to same. What is the plot behind this if not to further fan the embers of division and bad blood as seen before evidently.”

The Coalition noted that the bill was first introduced to the National Assembly in 2017/18 during the eighth assembly, “Upon introduction by its sponsor(s), however, the divisive bill set southern and northern lawmakers on collision course where upon heated arguments along regional lines tore the house apart. After hearings and readings, the said bill could not get concurrence at the senate, however.

“What happened to other important pieces of legislation the National Assembly has concluded legislation but are still waiting executive or presidential assent? Why is it that a certain part of the country, under the ninth assembly, appeared to be sponsoring bills to censor social media through anti-social media bill; freedom of speech through hate speech bill and even a bill to ban the use of generator set in a country where currently electricity tariff skyrocketed by beyond 100 percent as current realities dictate? When is the government for once going to be pro-people and pro-poor?

“According to the Land Use Act, lands and natural resources (including water) thereof were never the exclusive preserve of the federal government. But this obnoxious bill seeks, among other things, to not only annex or appropriate people's lands but to place all river basins, water bodies, atop and beneath Nigerian soil, under the control of the federal government. What becomes of areas like Niger Delta region and Lagos should this bill see the light of the day?

They regretted that the federal government tends to tell Nigerians that the bill was not actually dropped on the basis of its merits or demerits but simply because of the need to win election in 2019 at all costs, “Otherwise why reintroduce the rejected bill years after?

Alarming as it is, section 13 subsection 2 (13 (2)), of the bill is clear and revealing of something sinister at a time armed herders are overrunning settled human spaces with bandits carrying out wholesale slaughter without any form of resistance”.

“The Coalition will and is resolved to do anything within the law and constitutional limits of our nation to stop this move. We shall call; communicate our legislators to this end.”