The Managing Director of Hydroelectric Power Producing Areas Development Commission (HYPPADEC), Abubakar Yelwa has blamed the high fatality recorded in Monday’s boat accident in Patigi local government area of Kwara State on failure of the victims to use life jackets.
While stressing the need for the legislation
of a a law that would make it mandatory for boat passengers across the country to always wear life jackets, Yelwa also called for a law to restrain boat operators from operating at night, lamenting that the N1.6b life jackets that HYPPADEC procured last year for the use of boat passengers were not utilised.
The HYPPADEC boss spoke in Ilorin, the state capital, while flagging off the inauguration of the 2023 HYPPADEC subsidised fertilisers for 5, 795 farmers in Kwara State.
Represented by the Director of Community Development in the agency, Dr Mahmud Umar, Yelwa said: “The fatality recorded in the unfortunate boat accident was due to failure of the boat passengers to use life jackets. HYPPADEC spent N1.6bn on the procurement of life jackets for boat passengers last year.
“If the victims had put on the life jackets, the fatality rate would have been very minimal because a life jacket can keep a victim afloat for at least seven hours and help would have come from villagers within that period.
“I want to call on relevant authorities to legislate a law that will make the use of life jackets compulsory for boat passengers and as well restrain the boat operators from operating at night. If the victims had worn life jackets and the accident occurred in the broad day light, the fatality rate would have been very minimal.”
On the flag off of the distribution of subsidised fertilisers, Yelwa said: “Ordinary farmers across local communities in the country have always found it very difficult to access affordable fertilizer, saying it is one of the reasons the agricultural sector has degenerated over the years.
“For this reason, the commission decided to intervene by
making quality fertilizer available to farmers at a cheaper rate. This intervention is not just essential but timely because the rate at which population is rapidly increasing in our local communities demands that farmers are given unhindered
access to fertilizer in order to keep the production of food crops at pace with the ongoing population explosion. Fertilizer helps to increase soil fertility and makes plants resilient against harmful plant pathogens, pests and weeds. It also accelerates plant growth. Its significance to agricultural
growth can, therefore, not be overemphasized.
“When we started the fertilizer distribution programme last
year, we distributed over 50,000 bags of fertilizers to thousands of beneficiaries across our member states. In each of the over 1,800 communities of the Commission, not less than 30 bags were distributed to ordinary farmers with an astounding 60% discount. This year, the Commission is set
out to distribute 42,328 bags of fertilizer (21,118 bags each
for NPK and UREA), to not less than 20 beneficiaries in each community of the Commission at the same 60% discount (N10,000 per each bag). For Kwara State, 5,795 bags of the subsidised fertilizer would be sold to famers in the affected
areas of the commission.”
In his remarks, Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq said his administration would redouble efforts at ensuring the dredging of River Niger as a lasting solution to flooding in the riverine areas in the state.
Represented by the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Engr. Yakubu Salihu-Danladi, the Governor thanked HYPPADEC for its interest in adequate food production in its catchment area.