The Coalition of Shiroro Associations (COSA) has challenged a claim by the Hydro Power Producing Areas Development Commission (HYPPADEC) that it completed a rescue village for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State, describing the assertion as false and misleading.
In a statement signed by its Publicity Secretary, Babafada Abdulrahman, on July 15, 2026, the group referred to a June 28, 2022, report in The Punch in which HYPPADEC’s Managing Director, Abubakar Yelwa, was quoted as saying that the commission had completed its first rescue village in Nigeria in Shiroro LGA.
However, COSA said the project does not exist on the ground, insisting that the purported site remains undeveloped four years after the claim was made.
According to the association, the location identified for the project is still being used as farmland, with no buildings, water facilities or other basic infrastructure to indicate that a rescue village was ever constructed.
“COSA wishes to state that this claim is false, misleading, and unfair as it does not reflect the reality on the ground,” the statement read.
“After four years of this claim, the project site remains a farmland where our people are cultivating crops. There is no single structure, no water system or any social amenity. There is no rescue village along the Gwada-Kuta Road or anywhere else in Shiroro Local Government Area.”
The group expressed disappointment that HYPPADEC, which was established to address the developmental challenges faced by communities hosting hydroelectric dams, was allegedly making claims that, in its view, undermine the interests of those communities.
It recalled that the legislation establishing HYPPADEC was championed by late Senator Dahiru Awaisu Kuta and later by Senator David Umar, both of whom hailed from Shiroro and sought to alleviate the hardships faced by residents affected by the Kainji and Shiroro hydroelectric dams.
“It is sad that the people HYPPADEC was created to protect are the same people HYPPADEC is now trying to destroy by its false claims,” the group stated.
COSA called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), and the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) to investigate the alleged rescue village project and track funds released for its construction.
The association also urged the agencies to conduct a comprehensive audit of HYPPADEC projects across Niger State and other member states, prosecute anyone found culpable for abandoned or misrepresented projects, and ensure the completion of the proposed rescue village to provide shelter for displaced persons in Shiroro.
It further appealed to development partners, civil society organisations and the media to independently verify the status of the project site.
“The people of Shiroro have paid the supreme price just to light up this country. Therefore, our people do not deserve this injustice and inhumane treatment,” the statement added.
HYPPADEC had, in 2022, announced the completion of what it described as Nigeria’s first rescue village in Shiroro for persons displaced by insecurity and other humanitarian crises. The commission has yet to respond publicly to COSA’s latest allegations.
