Senator raises hope on passage of HYPPADEC bill

SENATOR representing Niger East Senatorial zone in the Senate, Senator David Umoru has given the assurance that the Eight National Assembly will pass into law the Hydro Power Producing Area Development Commission (HYPPADEC) bill soon.

Senator Umoru in a New Year message to the people of his constituency and made available to newsmen in Minna, said that the HYPPADEC bill, which has been waiting for final passage into law in the last eight years, has been repackaged by him, stressing that he has also mobilized his colleagues at the senate to ensure the speedy passage of the bill into Law.

According to Umoru, “As we all know, this very important bill was earlier passed by the National Assembly and assented to by the former President, Goodluck Jonathan but was not implemented by the Executive partly because an amendment to the Law was required.
“Despite this setback, the good news is that we are now back on track. I would like to assure our people that the 8th National Assembly is committed to the speedy passage of the HYPPADEC (Amendment) bill.

He, therefore, appealed to the Presidency to, as a matter of urgency, put in motion all necessary machinery for the smooth take off of the commission when the bill is finally passed and accented to.

The Senator said that the appeal became necessary in view of the sufferings of our people in the rural areas whose only means of livelihood have been destroyed over the years as a result of the activities associated with Shiroro, Kainji, Jebba dams.

He maintained that the plight of the people has been further worsened by the construction of the new 700mw Zungeru Dam.

Umoru maintained, “We cannot run away from the fact that lots of campaign promises were made considering the deplorable, undesirable hardship and neglect of our senatorial district which had pauperised our people over the years.”

He pointed out that “While striving hard to fulfill basic campaign promises, it is important for the people to understand the fact that there is no magic wand to solve the myriad of problems facing our people in one fell swoop particularly in the face of our dwindling resources.

Umoru used the opportunity to highlight some of his achievements in the Senate in last six months, saying that as a legislator, I had promised to use active legislations to influence development activities to our constituency and the state in general.