Laleye Dipo in Minna
Three more states-Taraba, Gombe and Kaduna-have applied to be included in the Minna-based Hydro Power Producing Areas Development Commission (HYPPADEC), to bring the member states in the commission to nine.
The present member states of the commission are Niger Kebbi, Benue, Plateau, Kogi and Kwara States.
Already, the commission has received the applications from the three states and begun drafting an amendment to the existing legislation which will be sent to the National Assembly for passage before being sent to the president for assent.
Section 3 sub-section 6 of the law establishing the commission has made it possible for any state with hydro dam to be absorbed into the organisation.
The Managing Director of the commission, Alhaji Abubakar Sadiq Yelwa, disclosed the interests of the three states yesterday at the inauguration of the headquarters building of the commission and presentation of 12 utility vehicles by the Niger State Governor, Alhaji Abubakar Sani Bello.
Yelwa noted that the states that would soon join the commission are as a result
of devastating effects of environmental and ecological impacts of flooding as a result of the activities of hydro dams in the states, stressing that Kaduna State will be included in the commission because it contributes from River Kaduna to the yet-to-be completed Zungeru Hydro Dam in Niger State.
According to the managing director, “Taraba State is already on its way to hosting the biggest hydroelectric dam in Nigeria, while Gombe State is also at the receiving end of the impact of flooding and other ecological problems.”
He also disclosed that the commission is partly being funded with 50 percent of the ecological funds accruable to member states and 10 percent of the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) of generating companies monthly.
Yelwa added that six states and 12 areas offices have been opened in the benefiting states with 12 operational vehicles distributed.
The Chairman of the commission Governing Council, Hon Joseph Terfa Ityav, in an address, commended President Muhammad Buhari for ensuring that the commission was not only established on paper, but also becomes operational.
Inaugurating the building and vehicles, Governor Bello observed that HYPPADEC has brought succour to communities suffering from perennial ecological impact of flooding, adding that the take-off of the commission has brought relief to Niger flood plain communities.
The governor pledged that his administration would continue to lend support to the federal organisations and their staff in the state.
