The National Hydro-electric Power Producing Areas Development Commission (N-HYPPADEC) will conduct a community mapping and need Assessment of 6,246 communities under its jurisdiction.

Alhaji Abubakar Yelwa, Managing Director of N-HYPPADEC, disclosed this on Tuesday at a training of officers for the 2024 Needs Assessment exercise of the commission in Abuja.

Yelwa said that the outcome of the training would provide the commission with a clear roadmap for interventions and alignment with the needs of beneficiary communities.

The Managing Director was represented by Mr Jimoh Gabi, Director of Finance and Administration of the commission.

The N-HYPPADEC activities covers 10 states of Benue, Kebbi, Kogi, Kwara, Niger, Plateau, Kaduna, Nasarawa, Gombe and Taraba.

The Commission was established to conceive, plan and implement, in accordance with set rules, projects and programmes for the development of hydroelectric power producing areas.

It is also mandated to prepare schemes designed to promote the physical
developments of hydroelectric power producing areas and estimate the cost of implementing such schemes.

Yelwa said that the commission would continue to discharge it functions to its beneficiary communities in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu administration.

‘The 2024 Needs Assessment Exercise is beyond data collection as it is intended to serve as the compass of the Commission for the future. It will guide our projects, programmes and policies.

‘Through your diligent work, we will be able to gain insights into the unique challenges and opportunities within each of the communities under the jurisdiction of the Commission.

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‘The objective of the exercise you are about to embark on is clear – to conduct a comprehensive needs assessment and community mapping exercise covering at least 6,246 communities.

‘This ambitious goal will help us develop a robust database that captures critical information on population, infrastructure and s
ocio-economic indicators. Your findings will directly inform our efforts to prioritize projects, enhance operational efficiency and promote socio-economic development in the affected areas.

‘Your attention to detail, your commitment to accuracy and your ability to engage respectfully with community members are of paramount importance.

‘The skills and knowledge you acquire here will not only serve you in the field but will contribute to the overall success of our mission,’ Yelwa said.

Dr Mahmud Muhammad, Chairman of the implementation Committee of the 2024 exercise, said that modern techniques would be used in the 2024 round of the exercise.

He said this was in order to have more accurate and efficient data that would be used in assessing the needs of beneficiary communities.

‘In this phase, we are also going to add application of celestial technique, space technique; that is remote sensing and Geographic Information technique so that at the end of the day we will see results from the two techniques.

‘We
will translate whatever we are doing now to research, not just doing the project and keeping reports. This is an improvement on the 2021 exercise and this will be accessible in all our HYPPADEC states offices,’ Muhammad said.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria