Am I the only one who noticed that the Niger Delta appeared to have been totally ignored during the recent election campaign? It is now up to Tinubu to make the region centrestage again 

Ayo Akinfe

[1] From henceforth, the Nigerian Delta Development Corporation (NDDC) will become a quasi-government body with 50% of its directors coming from the private sector

[2] The NDDC will have 10 public sector directors, one from each of its nine member states and one representing the federal government. They will sit on the board along with the 10 private sector directors

[3] These NDDC directors will elect a chairman who will run the corporation as a private concern

[4] All NDDC contracts must involve a public bidding process done online and live. Every tender and bid must be publicly available for scrutiny

[5] The office of the minister of Niger Delta Affairs will be scrapped. Instead what we will have is a minister for state and geo-political zone coordination

[6] If any private sector NDDC director has a conflict of interest in any contract, they must declare it. NDDC directors’ companies will not be able to bid for contracts in sectors in which they are operational

[7] The NDDC will set itself annual targets when it comes to the construction of shipyards, ports, boat factories, etc. For instance, at least one port must be dredged a year

[8] It will be the responsibility of the NDDC to build a coastal railway and coastal highway linking Calabar with Badagry

[9] Every year, the NDDC must attract at least one major investor into the Niger Delta. This will include shipyards, boat manufacturers, fishing equipment makers, fish processing firms, etc

[10] The NDDC will be responsible for cleaning up the Niger Delta and maintaining its environmental integrity