The Federal Government is set to establish the Hydroelectric Power Producing Areas Development Commission (HYPPADEC), with a view to addressing the menace of perennial flooding in the country.
A statement by Dr Umar Jibrilu-Gwandu, Special Assistant on Media and Public Relations, to the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, said that the minister made this known on Saturday in Argungu, Kebbi.
The minister, who was in Kebbi to sympathise with the people who were recently affected by flood, said that the commission, when established, would also manage other ecological challenges facing various communities across the country.
He noted that Kebbi, Kwara, Kogi, Niger and Plateau, among other states, had been experiencing flooding annually.
He attributed the perennial flooding to the overflowing of River Niger and the tributaries of the three hydro-electricity dams in Kainji, Jebba and Shiroro, saying that the development had resulted in “unquantifiable afflictions”.
Malami said that that the flood had resulted in loss of lives, property, agricultural produce, land degradation, shelters, farms and environments.
Malami, who sympathised with the emir, the emirates and the people of the area over the recent flooding, prayed that flooding would not occur in the area again.
The minister, in collaboration with his two non-governmental organisations (NGOs), donated N1.5 million and N1 million to the Argungu and Augie communities respectively.
He pledged that the NGOs – Kadi Malami Foundation and Khadimiyya for Justice and Development – would directly reach out to the affected communities to offer them humanitarian support and assistance.
