The Managing Director Hydroelectric Power Producing Areas Development Commission (HYPPADEC), Alhaji Abubakr Sidiq, has raised the alarm over none payment of royalties by generating companies to the commission in all its six states since its establishment.
He said without the support from governors of the six HYPPADEC’s states of Kwara, Kogi, Niger, Benue, Plateau and Kebi, the commission would have closed down its offices due to lack of funds.
The MD raised the alarm while speaking at a stakeholders’ meeting and presentation of its Medium Term Strategic Plan (HMTSP) 2022- 2027, convened by the governing council under the chairmanship of Barrister Joseph Ityav held in Ilorin, Friday.
Yelwa, who announced that the commission had gotten approval from its governing board to provide 250 housing units to persons displaced by flood in reverine communities, emphasized that the commission is in dire need of supports from all fronts to enable it fulfill its obligations.
“If not for the grace and supports of the governors of the six HYPPADEC state, HYPADEC offices would have closed by now because what is due to HYPADEC from generating companies had never been paid to HYPPADEC to dates.
“In fact, some of them are even arguing and trying to see that there is no justification in paying what is due to be paid to support these communities. Some of them are arguing that they should be allowed to work it out on their own which should not be the case,” he lamented.
Presenting the medium term strategic plan during the stakeholders’ meeting, HYPPADEC ‘s consultant, Sam Juwl said the commission plans to train and empower a total of 60, 000 skilled and unskilled youth in Kwara state within the next five years.
The consultant said the aim of training the 60, 000 youth within the next five years “is to take them out of poverty.”
He said while non-graduates would be trained in vocations such as tailoring, paintings amongst others, graduates on the other hands would be trained in advanced skills including ICT, installation of circuit camera television (CCTV) device , solar panels installations amongst others.
Ealier in his address, Chairman Governing Council of HYPPADEC, Barr Joseph Ityav said the essence of the meeting was to have stakeholders’ impute into the proposed plan with a view to ensuring that its implementation was carried out according to their communities’ needs assessments.
Kwara state governor, Mallam AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Professor Mamman Shaaba Jibril, called for the dredging of River Niger to put an end to the recurring flood wrecking havoc in riverine communities.
