From Olanrewaju Lawal, Birnin Kebbi
The Hydroelectric Power Producing Areas Development Commission (HYPPADEC), has donated relief materials and cash to the flood victims in four local government areas of Kebbi.
The Managing Director of HYPPADEC, Alhaji Abubakar Sadiq-Yelwa, presented the materials and cash at the flag off of the donation in Shanga town, headquarters of Shanga Local Government Area of the state.
According to him, “We sympathy with you and we are here to flag off the distribution of relief materials to the flood victims in Shanga, Koko/Besse, Bagudo and Dandi Local Government Areas of the state.
“It is our responsibility to collaborate with the state government in order to provide you with relief materials to cushion the effects of the flood disaster you experience. You know as well as we do that the disaster of such is from God and He alone can compensate you,” he said.
The relief materials are 1,325 mattresses, 1,060 blankets, 2,659 mosquito treated nets, 265 cartons of washing soap, 265 cartons bathing soap and 100 bundles of roofing zink.
Sadiq-Yelwa added that the severely affected three communities in Shanga LGA would get additional relief of 88 bags of rice, 88 bags of millets and 88 bags of maize respectively.
“The communities from the portion of the entire relief materials would get 353 blankets, 441 mattresses, 883 mosquito treated nets, 78 cartons of washing soap, 87 cartons of bathing soap and 33 roofing zink,” he said.
According to him, the three communities in Shanga LGA will also get three million cash assistance as additional relief from the commission.
Sadiq-Yelwa said that the commission had deployed medical health personnel to render free medical services to the flood victims from three days in the area.
The MD urged the victims to utilise the gesture for the purpose it was meant in order to uplift themselves from the state of their condition.
He also disclosed that, the commission has approved contract for the construction of 1,805 communities under the Commission.
He said: ” We have started providing solar boleholes to these communities so that it could attract them to the upland. We have also approved the construction of hand pumps boreholes to these communities. Any riverine community would benefits from this initiative. We have 1,805 communities in Nigeria under HYPPADEC scheme and all these 1,805 communities would have hand pumps boreholes.
“In addition to that, we have also commence the rehabilitation of existing hand pumps in many communities. Because some of these communities, has the problem of N100,000,N200,000 for repairing them, therefore they were abandoned. So ,we have already given out the contract for the rehabilitation of 350 of them and as soon as we finished these, we are going to give out another contract for the rehabilitation of another 350 so that, at the end of the year, we would be able to address the problem of 1,805 communities”, he said.
In his remake, the Chairman of Shanga Local Government, Hon. Aminu Suleiman Takaware commended the Commission especially the Managing Director for their gesture to the flood victims ,stressed that,the relief materials would go along way to alleviate their suffering.