Niger urges presidency to constitute HYPPADEC board

Governor Abubakar Sani Bello of Niger state has called on the federal government to urgently expedite action on the constitution of board members of the Hydro Power Producing Areas Development Commission (HYPPADEC) for the immediate take-off of the commission.
Bello made the call yesterday at a workshop in Minna on the devastating effect of hydro-dams on host communities.
Represented by the Deputy Governor, Alhaji Ahmed Mohammed Ketso, the governor said the Bill had been signed into Law since 2013, adding that “the ministry of power should make budgetary allocation for the smooth running of the Commission’s secretariat.
” He said the state government was working in collaboration with the other states in partnership with the federal government to realise the effective take-off of the Commission soon.
The governor added that the takeoff of the Commission “will cushion the effect of the annual flooding disaster of the affected communities and will reduced unnecessary lost of lives and destruction of farmlands.
” He said the state Committee on the Zungeru Dam under construction has successfully paid compensation on cash crops and economic trees to about 35 out of 98 communities affected by the dam.
In his remarks, the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Ibrahim Isah Ladan, stressed the need for government to be more informed on how best to tackle the challenges of flooding resulting from the dams when they occurred.
“Over time, the effects of flooding on the host communities on both upstream and downstream of the HYPADEC communities have been devastating hence the need to come together as stakeholders to review and sensitise each other on how to mitigate the effect of some of these disasters occasioned by the actualisation of the dams,” he said.