By Etuka Sunday
The Chairman/CEO, Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) Dr. Sam Amadi has called for peaceful co-existence between the host communities and utility companies in Nigeria.
Reasons he said, “The success of the power plants is tied to the success of the community, therefore, if the plants generates at full capacity, the community benefits”.
Amadi who played host to the National Youth Movement for the Creation of Hydroelectric Power Producing Areas Development Commission (HYPPADEC), cautioned that they should not take the law into their own hands but instead focus on a peaceful and purposeful engagement for mutual benefit of all.
A statement by the Head, Public Affairs Department, NERC, Dr. Usman Abba Arabi quoted the Chairman to have promised to invite and engage the group in the Commissions activities and events, noting that they are critical stakeholders in the power sector especially in the hydro power plant producing areas.
The National Youth Movement for the Creation of HYPPADEC, which has representatives from six states (Kebbi, Plateau, Benue, Kwara, Kogi & Niger), was formed in 2008 to sensitize and encourage the youth towards the establishment of HYPPADEC.
In this vein they have made considerable contributions towards having the HYPPADEC bill passed by the 6th National Assembly and approved by the President, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan in August 2010.
Speaking, the National President of the National Youth Movement for the Creation of HYPPADEC, Mallam Jibril Abdullahi Muregi, addressed the Commission, listing a number of key areas they would solicit the Commission’s support for.
These include the provision of water resources for the communities affected by power projects, skill acquisition programmes for the indigenes of those localities, the employment of indigenous peoples by
the successor companies, lower tariff class for those in the HYPPADEC region and lobby for the takeoff of HYPPADEC.
