New Telegraph

Govs direct states’ AGs to review Water Bill, others

…promise to present common position

Governors of the 36 states of the country have directed states’ Attorneys General as well as states’ executive councils, to review the National Water Resources Bill, 2020 presently before the National Assembly, alongside other existing laws.

The laws to be reviewed alongside the proposed bill, according to the governors, are the River Basins Development Authorities Act 2004; the Natural Water Resources Act 2004; and the Nigeria Hydrological Resources Act 2004. Chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF), Dr. Kayode Fayemi, in a communiqué at the end of the meeting on Wednesday, said the governors will make their position known on the bill after the review. The governor stated that the forum commended the Minister of Water Resources, Engr. Suleiman Adamu “for taking an integrated approach on water resource management.”
The minister was at the meeting to brief the governors on the bill. The Ekiti State governor said the governors will participate in the 26th Nigerian Economic Summit (NES #26), designed to focus on the sub-nationals as the frontiers for economic growth and development. “At least 18 governors will take part in physical and virtual high-level panel dialogues from 26th- 27th October 2020,” Fayemi assured.

He disclosed that a technical committee of the NGF-NESG Economic Roundtable (NNER) was inaugurated on September 14, with the responsibility “for coordinating the activities of the NGF-NESG partnership based on a Memorandum of Understanding signed between both institutions in 2017 to facilitate joint programme aimed at promoting sub-national competitiveness.” Governor Fayemi also disclosed that the NGF sub-committee interfacing with the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19, advised for compulsory presentation of credible COVID-19 PCR test results by international travellers to safeguard the health of Nigerians. He added that state governors were told to establish a COVID-19 Action Recovery and Economic Stimuolus (CARES) coordination unit in their Ministries of Budget and Planning to ensure proper coordination with other ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs). According to him, CARES’ objective is to fund investments at the state level aimed at protecting livelihoods and food security for vulnerable families and facilitating economic recovery for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the country. He said the governors were provided with updates on ongoing health-related interventions across states, including the Regional Disease Surveillance Systems Enhancement (REDISSE) COVID-19 Support Fund, the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF); and the Saving One Million Lives Performance for Results (SOML-PforR).

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