Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has urged Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) to stop awarding projects to political and portfolio contractors.
He said jobs should be given to competent contractors to deliver quality projects, adding that the agency should embark on construction of highways and bridges to link states in the region.
Wike, who appealed to the new board to do things differently, said such big ticket projects would serve as economic corridors to ease interstate movement and promote socioeconomic integration in the region.
The governor urged the board to adopt a regional development approach that would holistically develop the region.
The governor spoke when the new Chairman of NDDC board, Mrs. Lauretta Ifeanyi Onochie led other members on a courtesy visit to him at Government House, Port Harcourt on Friday.
The governor said: “I read what you said that things will be done differently. I want to believe that you’re sincere.
“Sometimes, I feel ashamed where I come from. We talk about underdevelopment, but look at the amount of money that has passed through NDDC, then look at the projects on ground.
“There is what we call regional development projects that can link up two states, those are the kind of things NDDC should go for and give it to competent contractors.
“Leave these political contractors. Leave all these portfolio contractors. Leave them alone. You have come to my state and you have seen what I have done.
“If we had used these political contractors, you won’t have seen anything here. Of course, you know how expensive my contractor is. From 2019 till now, we have done 12 flyovers.
“You know how much we are talking about and you can replicate that. Even though they are expensive, but you’ll see the value.”
Wike envisaged a situation where NDDC could devote huge sums annually to executing projects in each state of the region without distorting existing developmental master plan.
The governor said it was shameful to see the unproductive model NDDC had operated, serving as mere cash cow to politicians and spending about N10billion in futile attempt to rig the 2019 elections in Rivers State.
He said: “NDDC has become a cash cow for politicians. Look at the money NDDC lost in this state just to win election here. N10bn wasted, which could have been used to construct a mega project in the State.”
