The Hydroelectric Power Producing Areas Development Commission (HYPPADEC) has disclosed that about 350 persons lost their lives to boat mishaps in Nigeria, in the year 2020.
Specifically, the Chairman of the Governing Council of the Commission, Joseph Ityav, said most of the mishaps were caused by the poor conditions of boats, overloading, unavailability of life jackets, and the bulk of tree logs on the waterways.
Ityav disclosed this at the flag-off of the cutting of tree logs and removal of huge debris on Kainji and Shiroro Lakes on Saturday in Borgu, Niger State.
According to him, the project would be executed in partnership with the National Inland Waterways Corporation, noting that the cutting of tree logs and removal of debris from the waterways would reduce boat mishaps and the hardship faced by riverine communities.
In his remarks, the Managing Director, HYPPADEC, Abubakar Yelwa, said the Commission would address ecological and environmental issues and loss of lives, caused by the construction of the Kainji and Shiroro Dams.
Also, the Senate Deputy Chief Whip, Abdullahi Sabi, who was at the ceremony, said the projects by HYPPADEC would help to address challenges faced by communities in the hydro-power generating areas.
Sabi, who represented the Chairman, Senate Committee on Power, Sen. Gabriel Suswan, said the National Assembly would continue to support HYPPADEC to achieve its objectives.
The Kainji Dam was constructed on River Niger in 1964 for $209 million and was inaugurated in 1968, while the Shiroro Dam was constructed on the River Niger, in Kaduna State, southwest of Abuja in 1983.
