Aareonakakanfo of Yoruba land, Iba Gani Adams, has said the intention of President Muhammadu Buhari to re-present the controversial Inland Waterways Bill to the National Assembly is not in national interest, insisting that the re-presentation of the bill has also exposed the Federal Government’s primordial interests over national interest.
Aare Adams, in a statement by his Special Assistant on Media, Kehinde Aderemi, expressed disappointment at the way the Federal Government is dragging sensitive issue like the Inland Waterways Bill with the state government, adding that Buhari’s attempt to use the National Assembly as tools to fulfil his personal agenda is against the principle of federalism and does not reflect the values of separation of powers.
“If the Federal Government actually succeeds in controlling the water- ways, then the states are left with nothing to survive.
“For instance, Osun Osogbo remains one of the tourism destinations and revenue generation resources for Osun State. Many like that are spread all over the country. This cruel and selfish agenda must not fly because it is against the general principle of federalism.
“The FG couldn’t manage over 300 agencies and parastatals belonging to it, yet it is trying to strangle the states from their natural resources and endowments. The intention of the FG is to control all the waters and their surrounding banks in all parts of Nigeria.
“This is fraught with tension and suspicion because it would give the federal government the power to control the nation’s rivers (especially those that pass through more than one state).
“It is purely a direct assault on the principle of federalism. The idea of centralising all the resources, both human and natural resources in the hands of the Federal Government is killing and could lead to avoidable crisis between the federal and state governments.
This controversial Waterways Bills was first presented to the National Assembly during the Saraki tenure as President of the Senate. The NASS rejected it. It was also re-presented sometime last year, it didn’t fly. Therefore, members of the present National Assembly should be wary of falling into the trap set by the federal government.
They should not turn themselves to a rubber-stamp legislature. They are the legislature and they should also remember that they will always go back to their various constituencies to give account of their stewardship as representatives of the people.
“So, whatever they do now has a place in history and it may also affect their political careers, either positively or negatively. So, I urge all members of the National Assembly to ignore the obnoxious Water ways bills totally in national interest.
“Passing the controversial Water ways bills will translate to a serious setback because it will surely affect the spirit of federalism that Nigeria subscribes to as a nation”.
