NE Group Hails Tinubu, HYPPADEC MD Over ₦80bn Flood Intervention
By Ahmad Saka, Bauchi
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 the release of ₦80 billion to agencies and state governments for flood control.
In a statement signed by the National Chairman, Alhaji Murtala Sule Jalingo, and Secretary General, Comrade Danladi Bawa, and made available to newsmen in Bauchi, the group said the intervention came at the right time and would serve as a proactive step to mitigate flooding in vulnerable communities.
They called for more funding to effectively control the looming challenge, and expressed confidence that the money would be judiciously utilised to reduce the impact of torrential rains threatening widespread flash floods across HYPPADEC states and Nigeria.
The group commended the exemplary leadership of the MD, noting that he consistently pursues the commission’s projects with vigour to completion through regular review of ongoing projects, assessment of programme implementation, and development of strategies to improve service delivery across member-states.
According to the statement, Yelwa’s approach to ensuring quality service delivery provides genuine opportunities to evaluate the performance of departments and divisions, identify operational challenges, and receive feedback from field offices to strengthen project implementation.
The forum noted that HYPPADEC under Yelwa has sustained yearly flood preparedness campaigns through early sensitisation programmes in flood-prone communities several months before the rainy season. It also highlighted several interventions in Gombe and Taraba States tailored to address local needs and improve the welfare and livelihoods of host communities.
The group commended the commission’s efforts to mitigate ecological damage arising from hydroelectric power operations and to promote sustainable development in host communities.
In Gombe State, HYPPADEC’s interventions include the supply of 1,100 life jackets, provision of an operational flying boat to Kupto Community, installation of solar streetlights, construction of solar-powered boreholes, desilting of drainages, construction of classrooms, and payment of National Examination Council, NECO, fees for indigent students.
In Taraba State, the commission delivered a 33-seater boat with safety facilities, distributed 32 power tiller machines to farming cooperatives, and provided two flying boats along the Lau–Karim Lamido and Ibi–Wukari axes to enhance emergency response and mobility.
Other interventions include desilting of blocked drainages and culverts covering about 40,000 linear metres across several local government areas, supply and installation of transformers in parts of Jalingo, payment of NECO external examination fees for students from power-producing communities, and deployment of two water buses to improve transportation for residents of riverine communities.
The group said HYPPADEC is living up to the objectives of its establishment by prioritising interventions that directly impact people’s daily lives, unlike many organisations that focus largely on internal development.
It recalled that Nigerian authorities had cautioned that millions of Nigerians living in low-lying and vulnerable communities could face severe flooding if the current downpour persists
