Ebonyi State House of Assembly has passed a bill for a law to establish Ebonyi State Water Users Association Law and to provide for other matters connected therewith. The event, which took place at the Legislative Complex, Nkaliki road Abakaliki, was presided by the Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. Moses Ije Odunwa.
Reading the letter of the State Governor, Chief Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru, the Speaker said, that the bill when passed, will provide for the management operation and maintenance of water irrigation in Ebonyi State.
Speaking in support of the bill, the Leader of the House, Rt. Hon. Kingsley Ikoro, emphasized the importance of the bill, adding that it will contribute significantly, in planting and harvesting more than once in a year.
“This bill is timely, given that we are an agrarian State. Our mainstay is agriculture, and I have been one of the people who sounds strongly to say, if we have mechanized farming, if we have irrigation in our farms in Ebonyi State, we can harvest three times. For instance, Ebonyi is known for rice, if there is irrigation in our farms, we can harvest rice three times per annum. So, I wouldn’t want to waste our time on the details of this bill, but I would want us to look at it critically and give it an express passage.”
The Member representing Ebonyi North East State Constituency, Hon. Mrs Chinyere Nwogbaga said, that the bill when passed, will help the State Ministry of water resources, in safeguarding water pipelines, and also, provide water to the rural areas, and implored his colleagues to support the passage of the bill.
“The bill before us should be given a speedy passage, knowing that water is life, and if the bill is passed, it will help the Ministry of Water Resources to regulate, and monitor, especially our water pipelines, where some people destroy the pipeline while building houses or constructing roads, without considering the fact that pipeline passes there. But with this law, it will help the Ministry of Water resources to either constitute a committee that will be checkmating that in all the areas which such projects are carried out, to ensure that the water pipes are not destroyed. And it will equally help the Ministry to step down water to the rural areas, because the people at the hinterlands need water.”
Contributing, the Member representing Izzi West State Constituency, Hon. Abiri Godwin Abiri, highlighted the imperatives of the bill, adding that Ebonyi as an agrarian State, needs to farm all season, to increase rice sufficiency.
“This bill is very apt, very imperative, considering that Ebonyi State is an agrarian State. And in farming, Ebonyi rice world is from Ebonyi State, and for us to maintain it, it is good for us to farm all seasons and not only on rainy season. And for the fact that we have mega rice mills, situated at Iboko, one at Ikwo, the other one at Osu Edda. Those machines there are highly underutilized because we only farm in one season. So, the importance of this bill can not be overemphasized because, it will reduce poverty, it will also bring about employment opportunities to our people, and in view of all these, I urge my colleagues to kindly and graciously give it expeditious Passage.”
The Speaker of the House, Chief Moses Ije Odunwa, further highlighted the importance of the bill, and underscored that, it will help farmers in the State, to start farming more than once in a year, and also, provide employment opportunities to the people of the State.
“We can see that there is need for the establishment of this law. This law will help us to manage irrigation infrastructure in Ebonyi State.”
“What we are talking about here is that, for Ebonyi to have an existing law, for management of water association, it will help us because, Ebonyi is now working towards establishing the Oferekpe water scheme and other water schemes, and you will agree with me that because of the existence of our boundary with Cross-River, Ebonyi in due course, since we are going into mechanized agriculture will open up canals that will link up Cross-River to enable us to be farming more than just the usual conventional one tenured farm period. In rice which we are well known for, we can farm three times a year, or at worst, twice a year. If we have these facilities that will help us manage the users, it will help us also to generate more income for the users, like some of you have observed here, it will create job opportunities and also enhance the status of the members of the association.”
Speaker Odunwa however, put the motion on a voice votes, and it was unanimously accepted.
Meanwhile, the plenary was dissolved to the Committee of a whole, to enable the Speaker, assume his seat as the Chairman, so that the House members will dot their i’s and cross their t’s, through a motion that was moved by the Leader of the House, Rt. Hon. Kingsley Ikoro, and seconded by the Member representing Abakaliki South State Constituency and Deputy Leader of the House, Rt. Hon. Joseph Ununu. Thereafter, the House reconvened to plenary for the Chairman to resume his seat as the Speaker and report progress, through a motion that was moved by the Leader of the House, Rt. Hon. Kingsley Ikoro, and seconded by the Member representing Edda East State Constituency, Hon. Stephen Orji Igwe.
Reporting progress, the Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. Moses Ije Odunwa, said that having considered the bill at the committee of a whole, the law will be cited as, HAB NO 014 of 2024, A Bill for a Law to establish Ebonyi State Water Users Association Law and to provide for other matters connected therewith. He directed the Clerk of the House, Mrs Edene Uche Blessing, to prepare a memo, informing the State Governor, Chief Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru, the successful passage of the bill.
The plenary was adjourned to another legislative day through a motion, that was moved by the Leader of the House, Chief Kingsley Ikoro, and seconded by the Member representing Izzi East State Constituency, Hon. Goodluck Obinna Mbam.
Theophilus Ifeanyi Igwe,
Chief Press Secretary to the Rt. Hon. Speaker,
Ebonyi State House of Assembly.
October 2, 2024.
