Hydroelectric Power Producing Areas Development Commission (HYPPADEC) has distributed 2,500 motorcycles to vigilante groups in 1,800 communities as part of measures to tackle insecurity in the agency’s areas of coverage.
The managing director of HYPPADEC, Abubakar Yelwa, who disclosed this yesterday said that the gesture has yielded good results.
Yelwa spoke in Ilorin, Kwara State during the opening of a weeklong skill acquisition training programme tagged: “Skill Development For Organisational Productivity” organised for about 300 staff members of the agency.
“When we came, we realised that the communities want to defend themselves but the bandits go there highly equipped and with motorcycles and our vigilante groups do not have such kinds of facilities. So, we bought 2,500 motorcycles and distributed them to 1,800 communities. Not to individuals, but to vigilance groups of those communities so that we can improve on the security of the communities. And these had proved effective.
“Also, when we came, we realized that there’s persistent deaths as a result of canoe and boat mishaps in riverine transportation system. So, we bought 10,000 life jackets in order to save lives of commuters and we plan to buy even more, so that nobody would travel on the rivers without life jackets,” Yelwa added.
Yelwa, who said that the commission has performed well to meet objectives it was established, said that it had succeeded in needs assessment exercise, “where we went round 1,800 communities in HYPPADEC zone to know their basic needs, problems and expectations, so that policies and implementation would be those generated from the people.
“We have also constructed 160 solar boreholes in 57 local government areas that make up the commission. We are presently working to construct 1,000 handpumps in the 1,800 communities of the commission and we have given out contract for rehabilitation of 1,000 existing boreholes, handpumps that had gone out of use.”
On the training programme, Yelwa said that it is aimed at improving the performance of the staff, reminding them on basic objectives of their employment and guide them in key factors to take into consideration in application of resources of the commission for delivery of projects and programmes.
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