Niger-South Senior Stakeholders’ Forum (NSSF) has appealed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to reverse Mrs Tomi Somefun’s appointment as the managing director of the National Hydro-Electric Power Producing Areas Development Commission (N-HYPPADEC).
The forum’s secretary-general, Dr. Mohammed Santuraki (Santurakin Nupe), issued a statement yesterday, saying Somefun’s appointment was a clear violation of the N-HYPPADEC Act.
President Tinubu appointed Somefun as the managing director of N-HYPPADEC on July 18, alongside other Nigerians to serve as chairman and managing directors of different agencies.
Santurakin emphasised that, though Mrs Somefun is a distinguished Nigerian from Oyo State, her appointment contravened the N-HYPPADEC Act, which stipulated that only persons from N-HYPPADEC member states could hold such positions.
According to him, N-HYPPADEC was established to address the devastating ecological and socio-economic challenges suffered by communities in member states affected by hydroelectric power generation.
These challenges include environmental degradation, flooding, displacement, and destruction of livelihoods, a reality endured for decades by people of Niger, Kogi, Kwara, Kebbi, Benue, Plateau, Kaduna, Nassarawa, Taraba, and Gombe States.
Santuraki said: “The N-HYPPADEC Act is clear and unambiguous in its provisions regarding leadership. Specifically, Section 93(2)(a) of the Act states:
‘The managing director shall be an indigene from among the member states of the commission, whose appointment and tenure shall rotate among the member states in alphabetical order; provided that the chairman and managing director shall not be indigenes of the same state.’
“Mrs Somefun, though a distinguished Nigerian, hails from Oyo State, which is not a member of N-HYPPADEC. Her appointment is therefore in direct contravention of the enabling Act and undermines the very purpose for which the commission was established, to empower and give voice to communities impacted by hydroelectric development.
“We believe this is a matter not of politics, but of constitutional fidelity and justice.”
Santuraki, therefore, appeal to President Tinubu to reverse this appointment “in the interest of legality, fairness, and regional stability.”
He also urged members of the National Assembly from HYPPADEC states to rise in defence of their constituents and ensure the provisions of the law are upheld.
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