From Khalid Idris Doya, Bauchi
The North-East Stakeholders Forum for Sustainable Development (NESFSD) has commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the managing director of the Hydroelectric Power Producing Areas Development Commission (HYPPADEC), Alhaji Abubakar Sadiq Yelwa, for approving the release of N80 billion to mitigate the devastating impact of flooding in vulnerable communities.
According to a statement jointly signed by the national chairman of the Forum, Alhaji Murtala Sule Jalingo, and the secretary-general, Comrade Danladi Bawa Gombe, and made available to journalists in Bauchi on Wednesday, the intervention is timely and demonstrates the federal government’s commitment to protecting lives and property from the increasing threat of flooding.
The forum described the funding as a proactive measure that would strengthen flood prevention efforts, while urging the federal government to provide additional resources to ensure effective flood control and long-term environmental protection.
It expressed confidence that the fund would be judiciously utilised to address the effects of torrential rainfall, which continues to threaten communities within HYPPADEC states and other flood-prone areas of the country.
The stakeholders also praised the leadership of HYPPADEC managing director, Alhaji Abubakar Sadiq Yelwa, describing him as a committed administrator who has consistently ensured the timely execution of projects through regular reviews of ongoing programmes, monitoring of implementation, and the adoption of strategies aimed at improving service delivery across the Commission’s member states.
According to the forum, Yelwa’s hands-on leadership style has enhanced project implementation by identifying operational challenges, evaluating departmental performance, and strengthening collaboration with field offices.
The statement further noted that under Yelwa’s leadership, HYPPADEC has sustained its annual flood preparedness campaigns by embarking on early sensitisation programmes in flood-prone communities well before the onset of the rainy season.
It added that the commission has implemented several impactful interventions in Gombe and Taraba states, tailored to the specific needs of host communities, thereby improving livelihoods and promoting sustainable development.
The forum particularly commended HYPPADEC’s efforts to mitigate ecological damage associated with hydroelectric power operations through projects that directly benefit local communities.
In Gombe State, the Commission was said to have distributed 1,100 life jackets, provided an operational flying boat for Kupto community, installed solar streetlights, constructed solar-powered boreholes, desilted drainages, built classrooms, and paid National Examinations Council (NECO) fees for indigent students.
The Forum said these interventions demonstrate that HYPPADEC is fulfilling the mandate for which it was established by prioritising projects that directly improve the lives of residents rather than focusing solely on institutional development.
In Taraba State, HYPPADEC delivered a 33-seater boat alongside other safety facilities, distributed 32 power tillers to farming cooperatives, deployed two flying boats along the Lau-Karim Lamido and Ibi-Wukari routes to improve emergency response, desilted approximately 40,000 linear metres of blocked drainages and culverts across several local government areas, installed electricity transformers in parts of Jalingo, paid NECO examination fees for students from power-producing communities, and deployed two water buses to improve transportation in riverine communities.
The forum expressed optimism that the N80 billion intervention would help prevent the collapse of dams, bridges and other critical infrastructure while reducing the impact of flooding on vulnerable communities.
It recalled that Nigerian authorities had recently warned that millions of people living in low-lying and flood-prone communities could face severe flooding if the current heavy rainfall persists.
