By Ahmad Saka
Stakeholders under the North East Stakeholders Forum for Sustainable Development (NESFSD) have expressed satisfaction with the impact of projects executed by the National Hydroelectric Power Producing Areas Development Commission (N-HYPPADEC) in Gombe and Taraba states.
The Forum commended the Managing Director of the Commission, Alhaji Abubakar Sadiq Yelwa, for what it described as targeted and people-centred interventions across host communities in the two states.
National Chairman of NESFSD, Alhaji Murtala Sule Jalingo, and the Secretary-General, Comrade Danladi Bawa Gombe, made the commendation on Tuesday at White Hill Hotel, Bauchi, while briefing journalists.
According to Jalingo, N-HYPPADEC under Yelwa has intensified efforts to improve the welfare and livelihoods of hydroelectric power-producing communities in Gombe and Taraba through tailored interventions that address local needs.
He said the Commission’s activities have brought relief and renewed hope to host communities, particularly through sustained engagements and the recent visit of the Managing Director to newly admitted member states in the North-East, following their inclusion by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in June 2023.
Jalingo also praised the Commission’s efforts in mitigating ecological damage resulting from hydroelectric power operations, noting that its interventions promote sustainable development in affected communities.
He listed several projects executed in Gombe State to 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 Examinations Council (NECO) fees for indigent students.
The NESFSD chairman said N-HYPPADEC has lived up to the objectives of its establishment by prioritising projects that directly impact the daily lives of rural dwellers, unlike many agencies that focus mainly on internal development.
He expressed satisfaction with the Managing Director’s pledge to deliver a 33-seater boat and additional safety facilities, describing N-HYPPADEC as “the headquarters of rural development in Nigeria” due to the scale and reach of its interventions.
Jalingo further commended projects executed in Nafada, ranking the Commission first, second and third among development agencies operating in the area in terms of productivity.
In his remarks, the Secretary-General of the Forum, Comrade Danladi Bawa Gombe, also praised the Commission for addressing environmental and socio-economic challenges in power-producing communities.
“We are happy with the visit of the Managing Director because he is a technocrat who clearly understands the long-standing environmental and social burdens borne by host communities,” Danladi said.
He noted that N-HYPPADEC remains committed to addressing ecological degradation, flooding, erosion, displacement and livelihood disruptions associated with hydroelectric dam operations, while promoting sustainable development.
Danladi disclosed that since 2024, the Commission has executed several projects in Taraba State, including the establishment of a state office in Jalingo, installation of 34 solar-powered streetlights in riverine communities and the state capital, and construction of 15 solar-powered boreholes to improve access to clean water.
Other interventions in Taraba, he said, include the distribution of 32 power tiller machines to farming cooperatives, provision of two flying boats along the Lau–Karim Lamido and Ibi–Wukari axes to enhance emergency response and mobility, desilting of blocked drainages and culverts covering about 40,000 linear metres to mitigate flooding, installation of transformers in parts of Jalingo, and payment of NECO external examination fees for students from power-producing communities.
The stakeholders also commended the Managing Director for pledging to deploy two water buses to improve transportation for riverine communities in Taraba State.
The Forum assured N-HYPPADEC of the continued support of the people of Gombe and Taraba states, while appealing to the Commission to extend its interventions to all remaining local government areas in the two states.
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