Flood Mitigation: Northeast Forum Commends Tinubu, HYPPADEC Over ₦80bn Intervention Fund
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The North East Stakeholders Forum for Sustainable Development (NESFSD) has commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the Hydroelectric Power Producing Areas Development Commission (HYPPADEC) following the release of ₦80 billion to tackle flooding in vulnerable communities.
In a joint statement issued to journalists in Bauchi by NESFSD National Chairman, Alhaji Murtala Sule Jalingo, and Secretary General, Comrade Danladi Bawa Gombe, the forum described the intervention as a timely and a proactive step to safeguard infrastructure and lives.
According to the forum, the ₦80 billion intervention fund will be utilized to prevent critical dams and bridges in beneficiary areas from collapsing or being washed away by severe floods.
The group noted that the funds arrived at a crucial moment, as Nigerian authorities recently warned that millions of citizens in low-lying, vulnerable communities face severe flooding if current heavy downpours persist.
While praising the government’s quick response to mitigate flash floods across HYPPADEC member states, the NESFSD called for additional funding to effectively control the looming environmental challenges.
The stakeholders lauded the Managing Director of HYPPADEC, Alhaji Abubakar Sadiq Yelwa, for his exemplary leadership and commitment to project execution.
The statement highlighted Yelwa’s strategic approach, which involves regular project reviews, field assessments, and rigorous performance evaluations to ensure quality service delivery.
The group specifically commended HYPPADEC for its sustained annual flood preparedness campaigns, which initiate community sensitization months before the rainy season begins.
HYPPADEC was praised for prioritizing community-centered projects that directly enhance local livelihoods.
The forum highlighted key interventions across the northeast region to include the distribution of 1,100 life jackets, provision of an operational flying boat to the Kupto community, installation of solar streetlights, and construction of solar-powered boreholes in Gombe State.
“The commission also handled the desilting of drainages, construction of classrooms, and paid NECO examination fees for indigent students”.
“In Taraba State, the Commission facilitated the deployment of a 33-seater boat, two water buses for riverine transportation, and two flying boats along the Lau–Karim Lamido and Ibi–Wukari axes to boost emergency response”.
“It also Distributed 32 power tiller machines to Taraba farming cooperatives, installed electricity transformers in Jalingo, facilitated the payment of NECO fees for local students, and desilted 40,000 linear meters of blocked drainages and culverts across multiple local government areas” It said.
The NESFSD stated that the commission is successfully living up to its core mandate of mitigating ecological damage from hydroelectric operations while driving sustainable development in host communities.
