The National Hydroelectric Power Producing Areas Development Commission (N-HYPPADEC) has donated 1,100 life jackets, an operational flying boat, solar-powered streetlights, boreholes, classrooms and other interventions to host communities in Gombe and Taraba states.
The National Chairman of the North East Stakeholders Forum for Sustainable Development (NESFSD), Murtala Jalingo, disclosed this on Thursday during an assessment meeting held at Whitehill Hotel, Bauchi.
Jalingo said during the assessment, they discovered how the commission continue to intensify efforts to improve the welfare and livelihoods of communities affected by hydroelectric power operations, particularly in Gombe and Taraba states.
According to him, the interventions include the supply of 1,100 life jackets, provision of a flying boat to Kupto community, installation of solar-powered streetlights, construction of solar boreholes and classrooms, desilting of drainages, and payment of National Examination Council (NECO) fees for indigent students.
“It is commendable the way N-HYPPADEC has intensified efforts to improve the welfare and livelihoods of host communities in Gombe and Taraba states. These efforts have brought relief and hope to the people, especially through sustained engagements and targeted interventions,” he said.
Jalingo added that the commission was living up to its mandate of mitigating ecological damage arising from hydroelectric power operations and promoting sustainable development in host communities.
He also expressed delight over the Managing Director’s promise 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 impact of its projects.
Also speaking, the Secretary of the Forum, Comrade Danladi Bawa, commended the commission for addressing environmental and socio-economic challenges in power-producing areas.
He said “Since 2024, N-HYPPADEC had 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.”
“Other interventions included the distribution of 32 power tiller machines to farming cooperatives, provision of two flying boats along the Lau–Karim Lamido and Ibi–Wukari corridors, desilting of drainages and culverts spanning about 40,000 linear metres to mitigate flooding, installation of transformers in parts of Jalingo, and payment of NECO examination fees for students from host communities.”
Our correspondent reports that the forum assured the Managing Director of the commission, Abubakar Yelwa, of the continued support of the people of Gombe and Taraba states, while appealing for the inclusion of all remaining local government areas in the commission’s future interventions.
