By Friday Idachaba, Lokoja
The National Hydroelectric Power Producing Areas Development Commission (N-HYPPADEC) has undertaken a Management Post-Evaluation exercise of its projects across communities in 10 Local Government Areas in Kogi state commending communities for taking ownership of the projects.
Nura Tanko Wakili, the Team Lead while addressing newsmen at the end of the exercise commended the N-HYPPADEC catchment communities in Kogi state for taking ownership and utilizing the projects cited in their areas described their zeal as “heart-warming.”
Nura who is also the Head of Press and Public Affairs in the Commission, said that the wholesome acceptance of the Commission’s projects by the communities was not unexpected having from the onset involved the the benefitting communities.
“In N-HYPPADEC, we believe in Community-Driven Development Approach. In Whatever we are doing. We always use our slogan of Bottom-Top approach. We ensure that communities are carried along.
“That’s why we have what we call Needs Assessment. In 2021 when we came on board we conducted needs assessment to identify those areas that are the priorities of these communities for interventions.
“Just recently in this 2024,
we conducted another round of needs assessment and after collecting the data, we don’t go to our offices, sit down and plan on the available data.
“No, we engage the communities to ascertain whether the data captured by our enumerators is what represents the interest of these communities”, he explained.
Nura said that N-HYPPADEC embarked on the Management Post-Evaluation exercise as an intervention agency, to ensure that projects executed by the commission met the purpose for which they were cited in the communities.
“These are communities that are in one way or the other affected by the construction and operations of hydroelectric dams in Nigeria.
“We started operations in six states of Benue, Kebbi, Kogi, Niger, Plateau, Kwara and We are now in Gombe, Nasarawa, Kaduna and Taraba states”, he said.
Speaking in same vein, Mr Lee Ahenjir, Head, Planning, Research and Statistics in the Commission, said, “So far, we are extremely impressed with what we have been able to achieve in the short period of time the commission has been working.
“What we are trying to achieve in the PRS as data bankers for the Commission, through this exercise, is to gather data of the mileage the commission has been able to accomplish over these three and a half years.
“When communities take ownership of the projects,
we also support them by coming up with a maintenance budget so that the project will last and stand the test of time”, Ahenjir said.
Mr Umar Ibrahim, a community teacher at LGEA, Kumgbani in Lokoja Local Government expressed the people’s gratitude to N-HYPPADEC for the intervention in constructing a block of three classrooms saying enrollment had increased from 50 to 120 pupils.
At Community Girls’ Secondary School, Koton-Karfe, a staff of the school, Mr Zubairu Mohammed said that N-HYPPADEC’s intervention in providing classrooms and other equipment, had led to improved enrollment with its present 230 students population.
The N-HYPPADEC team assured the communities that the Needs Assessment for further interventions has been carried out with assurances of more life-changing projects. (Ends)