The National Hydroelectric Power Producing Areas Development Commission (N-HYPPADEC) and the National Council on Climate Change (NCCC) are exploring strategic collaboration to attract international climate finance for development and climate-resilience projects in communities affected by hydroelectric power operations.
The Managing Director of N-HYPPADEC, Abubakar Sadiq Yelwa, disclosed this when he led a delegation of the commission on a visit to the Director-General of the NCCC, Dr Tenioye Majekodunmi, in Abuja.
The engagement focused on strengthening institutional collaboration and identifying opportunities to mobilise international climate and development funding for projects across N-HYPPADEC’s mandate areas in its 10 member states.
Yelwa said the proposed partnership was driven by the commission’s commitment to improving the socio-economic conditions of communities affected by the operations of hydroelectric dams.
According to him, stronger partnerships with national and international institutions would enable N-HYPPADEC to expand the scale and impact of its interventions, particularly in flood and erosion control, environmental sustainability, climate adaptation and livelihood improvement.
He said the commission was also seeking to leverage opportunities within the international climate-finance architecture to develop sustainable interventions addressing environmental and socio-economic challenges confronting communities within its mandate.
Yelwa stressed the importance of positioning N-HYPPADEC’s interventions to attract support from international development partners, noting that access to climate finance could significantly enhance the commission’s capacity to implement resilience-building projects in vulnerable communities.
Responding, the NCCC Director-General, Majekodunmi, emphasised the need to create platforms through which development partners and donor agencies could better understand N-HYPPADEC’s interventions and assess their impact on beneficiary communities.
She encouraged the commission to utilise international climate platforms, including side events at the Conference of the Parties (COP), to showcase its projects, share impact stories and engage potential development partners.
Majekodunmi said such platforms would provide opportunities for Nigerian institutions to demonstrate credible climate interventions, establish strategic partnerships and mobilise resources for climate action and sustainable development.
She also highlighted the strategic role of hydropower in strengthening Nigeria’s climate resilience, stressing the importance of sustainable energy development as the country responds to climate change while seeking to improve energy security.
