The member representing Ughelli North, Ughelli South and Udu federal constituency in the House of Representatives, Hon. Francis Waive has lamented the economic state of the country stressing that the economy is in “coma and needs urgent resuscitation.”
Hon Waive who is a member of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC from Delta State, made the disclosure in a statement to his constituents on his position on the water resource bill which he tagged as a “Northern agenda to tightened the noose on the South.”
Expressing concerns over the bill if passed amidst the inefficiency of the River Basin Authorities, the lawmaker said:
“The bill is of no immediate benefit to the generality of the populace at this point in time, plus we have not developed enough as a country to be able to properly manage all the resources we have to now begin to look at the water. Water is the least of our problems as a country.
“The various River Basins which are currently under the control of government have not been properly managed, instead it has been grossly politicized, how then can the government manage and control all the water bodies in the country.
“One will be tempted to ask, what is the intention behind this law? Is it really for the general good of the Nigerian people as it states? How well have the various natural resources been managed for the general good?”
In his recommendations to the federal government over the water bill, Waive said:
“We should at this time if we must, begin to look at other solid mineral resources such as gold and the likes that have high economic value and capable of diversifying the Nigerian economy which is currently over-dependent on crude oil.
“Our economy is in a coma and needs urgent resuscitation. It is common knowledge that solid mineral resources are not properly regulated as the activities of illegal mining is big business in some parts of the country.”