The Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations, Civil Service Technical and Recreational Services Employees (AUPCTRE) has said that the proposed national water bill will add to the burden of masses if passed into law.
The national President of AUPCTRE, Mr Benjamin Anthony who stated this in Lokoja on Tuesday said that the law which is seeking the privatisation of the water sector was also a violation of the people’s right to water as approved by the United Nations.
Anthony who spoke at the opening of a one-day workshop on campaign against water privatisation in Nigeria accused the World Bank and some international organisations of pushing the Federal Government to privatise water production and distribution in Nigeria.
“It will be very devastating if water is taken out of the reach of the ordinary Nigerians,” he said.
Anthony reminded the Federal Government that Nigerians were already going through a lot of stress as result of the deregulation of the petroleum sector and increase in electricity tariffs, calling for the jettisoning of the water bill.
“Life is becoming bitter for the people, this is a dangerous trend , the government needs to realise that water is life,” he said.
He said that the AUPCTRE in collaboration with other groups will mobilise against the national water bill and the attempt to private water sector by the government.
The national President said that the workshop was organised to expose participants to the dangers posed by the proposed national water bill to human existence.
According to him, communities and other critical stakeholders will also be involved in the struggle to get the Federal Government to drop the bill and forget about the idea of privatising the water sector.
Participants at the workshop were drawn from the 36 states in the country and the Federal Capital Territory.
