Northern Youths Appeal to Jonathan over Take-off of HYPADEC

Hammed Shittu Some northern youths under the aegis of Northern Ethnic Youth Group Assembly (NEYGA) have appealed to President Goodluck Jonathan to expedite action on the take off of the Hydro-Electric Power Producing Areas Development Commission (HYPADEC) in the region..

In a statement issued in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital at the weekend by the youths and signed by its chairman, Mr. Usman Austin and Secretary, Mr. Rahab Benjamin, a copy of which was made available to journalists, said: “If the HYPADEC project is allowed to take off, it will alleviate a lot of problems associated with flood and environmental degradation and also provide employment for thousands of youths in Northern Nigeria and beyond.”

According to the statement, “despite its huge potential to the northern region in the area of socio-economic development of the member states and indeed the entire region, the commission has not been given adequate attention by the federal government.”

The statement said the state of affairs of the commission was a great source of worry to the youths and entire people in the North.

The statement added: “We therefore call on President Goodluck Jonathan, to please revisit the HYPADEC project as it will measure in the transformation currently going on in the country.

“That beyond the huge deposits of crude oil alongside other mineral resources laying beneath our soil, the youths have been identified as the treasure base of Nigeria. This group, which accounts for over 60 per cent of the population of Nigeria, should not be allowed to waste or be sacrificed on the altar of tribalism and politics.”

The youths, who in strong terms expressed their support for President Jonathan’s second term bid, condemned terrorism particularly in the North-easternpart of the country, adding that, “We stand against the unwarranted killing of our innocent youths, abduction of young women into insurgency.”

The statement noted that, “We commend the federal government of Nigeria under the leadership of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, for the efforts made thus far to curb insurgency in the north.