From Olanrewaju Lawal, Birnin Kebbi
The Hydroelectric Power Producing Areas Development Commission (HYPPADEC) has kicked off training of 60 enumerators for needs assessment in 13 local government areas affected by flood in Kebbi State.
The local government affected consist of Birnin Kebbi, Jega, Dandi, Bagudo, Bunza, Argungu, Maiyama, Augie, Yauri, Shanga, Koko, Ngaski and Suru.
While addressing the trainees in Birnin Kebbi, the Director Legal Services of the Commission, Alhaji Jamilu Jega, said that the four-day training programme training was designed to enumerate the areas affected by the floods in the state.
According to him, ‘try as much as possible to do your best so that all of us can benefit and at the same time contribute meaningfully to the development of our environment and participate in tackling the climate change challenges in the state.’
He urged the trainees to pay attention to the training, stressed that each participant must be trained enough to handle the job expected of them to conduct in the areas.
In his remarks, the Lead Resource Person, Dr Rufa’i Aliyu, a Senior Lecturer at the Kebbi State University of Science and Technology, Aliero, warned the trainees to desist from formulating false data during their assessment in the affected communities.
‘Let us focus on what are you expected to do, especially when you get to the affected communities who have suffered environmentally. HYPPADEC will depend on the information on the issues of the communities you gather, and it will utilise in solving the problems facing the affected communities.
‘Please, let us be sincere in our enumerating. Don’t sit down at your homes,filling the questionnaires, instead of being on the fields; It is better you protect your integrity than providing false data, and lies. Now, you have the opportunity to safe lives of people, safe our communities.
‘Don’t join those people who will be destroying our communities because once you bring false information into your data, you are among those destroying our communities,’ he said.
He appealed to all the participants to concentrate fully during the training, which he said would be computer-based.
‘When you get to the affected communities, you will have interactions with your colleagues, people with different background and the major stakeholders in the communities in the course of your data gathering,’ Aliyu said.