By Gloria Ikibah
The House of Representatives has pledged its commitment to the development of the Hydrological Services/Hydroelectric Power Producing Areas Development Commission (HYPPADEC) host communities.
Chairman, House Committee on Hydrological Services/Hydroelectric Power Producing Areas Development Commission (HYPPADEC), Rep. Paschal Agbodike, stated this when the Managing Director of HYPPADEC, Abubakar-Sadiq Yelwa, appeared before the committee on Tuesday.
Rep. Agbodike, said HYPPADEC communities should get the same benefits, as host communities of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
He therefore promised that the Committee was going to help address the funding challenge of the Agency.
He said, “We are ready to improve on the activities of HYPPADEC. We will improve on the lives of those host communities because I see no difference between HYPPADEC and NDDC. The host communities of NDDC are enjoying the benefits, those things that should be going to them to ameliorate their suffering as a result of hazard that is coming from the activities of those oil companies.
“So the communities of HYPPADEC should also be compensated the way it is supposed as provided by the law and Act that establishes HYPPADEC”.
States that are expected to be beneficiaries are Kogi, Benue, Gombe, Kaduna, Kebbi, Kwara, Nasarawa, Niger, Plateau and Taraba.
“Those host communities we shall make sure we improve their welfare, having seen their plan for the year and things that have been provided or mapped out in the proposed budget”, he added.
According to the Chairman, intervention for the communities would be in the area of agriculture, housing scheme, construction and rehabilitation of schools, rehabilitation and expansion of urban water scheme, development of jetties, boreholes, fertiliser inputs, installation of solar street lights, ICT and rural electricity drive among other.
“To execute all these, funding is vital. The question here is how to make the funding available. This committee will help in helping the funding possible.
‘There is a rule for accessing loans according to the Act that established HYPPADEC. If necessary there is still the option of going through proper channels to access the loans.
“It is the duty of this committee to assist in making sure that most of the things required in the agency is provided for”, Agbodike asserted.
Earlier, the Managing Director of HYPPADEC, Yelwa, said the commission was confronted with several challenges, including funding, which hampered the Commission from carrying out its mandate.
The following agencies were also invited for the interactive session, Electricity Generation Companies (GENCOs), Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Minister of Water Resources, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, National Electricity Regulatory Commission- (NERC) and Bulk Electricity Trading Company (BETC).