The Hydroelectric Power Producing Areas Development Commission (HYPPADEC) has said that it will provide no fewer than 250 housing units to displaced victims of the recent floods in parts of riverine areas of Kwara state.
The commission’s Managing Director, Abubakar Yelwa said this in Ilorin, Kwara state capital at the presentation of HYPPADEC’S medium-term strategic plan (HMTSP) 2022- 2027— Kwara.
Mallam Yelwa said that the commission had got approval from its governing board to that effect.
He however decried lack of compliance by generating companies in all the six HYPPADEC state in the payment of their dues to the commission .
He said: “If not for the grace and support of the governors of the six HYPPADEC states, HYPADEC offices would have closed by now because what is due to HYPADEC from generating companies had never been paid to HYPPADEC to date .
“In fact , some of them are even arguing and trying to see that there is no justification in paying what is due to be paid to support these communities. Some of them are arguing that they should be allowed to work it out on their own which should not be the case”, he lamented.
Presenting the plan at the meeting HYPPADEC ‘s consultant, Sam Juwl said that the commission plans to train 60,000 skilled and unskilled Kwara youths in the next five years.
He said that non-graduates would be trained in vocations such as tailoring, and paintings among others while graduates, on the other hand, would be trained in advanced skills like ICT, installation of closed circuit camera television (CCTV), device, and solar panels installations amongst others.
Earlier in his address, the Chairman Governing Council of HYPPADEC, Barrister Joseph Ityav said the essence of the meeting was to have stakeholders impute into the proposed plan with a view to ensuring that its implementation was carried out according to their communities’ needs assessments.
Kwara state governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, represented by the Secretary to the state government, Prof Mamman Jibril, called for the dredging of River Niger to put an end to the recurring flood wrecking havoc in riverine communities.