Traditional rulers in Benue State have demanded low tariff for electricity as part of benefits to be derived for state’s generating hydroelectricity in the country.
The Ter Gwer of Gwer West Kingdom, Chief Daniel Abomtse, made the request when he spoke alongside his colleagues at a stakeholder’s forum in Makurdi.
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“We demand low tarriff for electricity. We are producing, so we should pay less and every community within the zone should have electricity,” he said.
Another monarch, Ter Lobi, Chief Moses Anagende, registered the plight of farmers who had deserted their abodes in the riverine areas to live at Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps due to incessant attacks.
The request followed a presentation made by the Hydroelectric Power Producing Areas Development Commission (HYPADEC) which disclosed that Benue State ranked highest in frequency of gully erosion than any other states in the country.
The Programme Director of HYPADEC, Dr Muhammad Akali, said, “The frequency of erosion in Benue State is the highest in Nigeria in terms of depth which stands at 35.4 per cent.”
He said in the next few weeks the commission would provide 1,000 motorcycles to communities in affected states to check incessant attacks, while two boreholes each would be constructed in all the affected seven LGAs in the state, in addition to solar street lights in the localities.
He noted that the gully erosion usually worsened because the state’s water bodies connected directly with River Cameroon.