Group To Protest On Tuesday Against MD Of Nigerian Hydroelectric Power Commission, HYPADEC Over Alleged Corruption

The Northern Human Rights Group has set a date to protest against the Managing Director of the Hydroelectric Power Producing Areas Development Commission (HYPADEC), Abubakar Yelwa over alleged corruption.

 

The coalition disclosed this in a letter signed by Vincent Okpekwu, the Secretary-General and Head of Mission of the coalition. It noted that the risk of non-action in addressing the leadership challenge in the commission might spell doom for fulfilling the operational mandate of the commission.

 

The group is set to submit a letter to President Muhammadu Buhari through the Minister of Power, Abubakar Aliyu over the alleged corruption being perpetrated by the top management staff of HYPADEC headed by Yelwa.

The statement reads in part; "As critical stakeholders, we are humbly using this medium to inform you of the planned protest to your office to submit our letter of protest against the managing director of HYPADEC for onward delivery to President Muhammadu Buhari.

 

"The protest march to your office is slated for Tuesday, 6th December 2022, and we wish to implore the Honorable Minister to receive our delegation with the overreaching objective of bringing about positive changes in the operations of HYPADEC.

 

"The Honorable Minister may wish to agree that if left unchecked, the activities of the managing director of HYPADEC have the potential to cause monumental embarrassment to the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari in its anti-corruption drive.

 

"We are aware that the managing director of HYPADEC has boasted in several forums that he is untouchable and has the backing of some powerful forces hence his display of gross insensitivity in the administration of a commission as critical as HYPADEC.

 

"The Honourable Minister may want to agree that the time to act is now to halt the rapid decline of HYPADEC caused by the nefarious activities of the managing director, Abubakar Yelwa, who has proven to be incompetent and a highly corrupt individual who has corruptly enriched himself and cronies with funds from the commission," he said

 

The coalition said since Yelwa got into office, the commission has been enmeshed in scandals that put it in bad light before the public.

 

The coalition said, "The managing director has turned HYPADEC into a marketplace where all sorts of commodities are sold to the highest bidder. Established cases of contract inflation, violation of procurement processes, recruitment racketeering, and many other anomalies put the commission operations under dire strain.

 

"Abubakar Yelwa, in connivance with the board chairman, had ensured that all contracts from the commission were reserved for friends and cronies. In most instances, contracts are paid for upfront without any evidence of job competence or necessary technical requirement for the execution of the job.

 

"The Honorable Minister may wish to be informed that the managing director has also formed the habit of victimizing staffers who do not share the same ethnic and religious affiliations as him.

“He is also notorious for being vindictive and selective in postings in the commission, an act that has dampened the morale of the entire workforce of the organization.

 

"Sadly, the managing director has deviated entirely from the task at hand; instead, he has elected to enrich himself with the commission's finances without regard to the implication of his actions.

 

"Honourable Minister, the infractions committed by the managing director of HYPADEC are innumerable. We wish to implore you to see the protest march to your office in light of the overall interest of the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari and the country at large.”

 

"It is our desire that HYPADEC fulfils its mandate of harnessing resources in the most transparent, acceptable and cost-efficient manner towards ameliorating the negative effects of hydroelectric dam operations in HYPPADEC member states" he added.