The Hydro-Electric Power Producing Areas Development Commission (HYPPADEC) is meeting with stakeholders in Kebbi to evolve measures to mitigate the effects of floods in 14 flood-prone local government areas.

The HYPPADEC managing director, Abubakar Sadiq-Yelwa, said the meeting would also look at communities that have suffered flooding in the past five years.

He made this known at the 2023 stakeholders’ meeting on flood mitigation and other related issues in the state in Birnin Kebbi on Sunday.

“We have identified with the role played by stakeholders, hence we will do all it takes to reduce the hardships faced by the communities in the state,” he said.

Mr Sadiq-Yelwa said the commission realised that the communities could manage most of the flood problems.

He pointed out that the HYPPADEC was prepared to intervene in communities with serious ecological and drainage issues, adding that it was hampered by resources at its disposal.

“But one commitment I want to make here and now is we are prepared to partner with any local government with a budget to control erosion, flood and drainages.

“When we check the design and the bills, and we are satisfied, we are prepared to finance such projects by 60 per cent, but they must contribute their 40 per cent down.

“Once they are able to do that, we are prepared to pay 60 per cent on behalf of the commission so that our communities will feel the impact of our presence and we also feel the impact of the partnership between the Local Government and HYPPADEC,” the MD said.

Earlier, the head of the Sokoto operations office, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Aliyu Kafindangi, said the agency had commenced activities based on the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET)’s 2023 prediction of possible flood in the 14 local government flood-prone areas.

The executive director of SEMA, Rabi’u Abbas-Kamba, said that most of the floods in previous years were caused by the release of water from dams in Sokoto and Niger states.

“We have been meeting with the dams’ managers, and we were told that the dams could not withstand the volumes of water as they have not been dredged for many years,” he said.

Mr Abbas-Kamba urged the authorities concerned to ensure dam dredging as part of measures to mitigate the state’s flood.

In his remark, the state Commissioner for Environment and Solid Minerals, Hayatuddeen Bawa, commended HYPPADEC for organising the meeting, saying it was critical towards solving flood problems in the state.

“The presence of numerous rivers in the state demonstrates that the state is extremely vulnerable to flooding.”

(NAN)