BY SAM DUVWODE
The Niger Delta Region is set for a path of strategic economic growth and sustainable development, as the Niger Delta Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Trade, Mines and Agriculture (NDDCITMA) has unveiled plans to attract up to five billion dollars in investments over the next five years to stimulate key sectors of the regional economy.
The Chairman of the Niger Delta Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Trade, Mines and Agriculture, Ambassador Idaere Gogo Ogan, disclosed this during a pre-summit briefing in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
Addressing journalists and stakeholders, Ambassador Ogan said the Niger Delta Economic and Investment Summit and Exhibition 2026, themed “Driving Investment, Innovation and Industrial Growth in the Niger Delta,” is a deliberate platform for industrial mobilisation, enterprise development, expansion, and regional coordination.
He stated that the summit, scheduled for May 19 to 21, 2026, will feature President Bola Tinubu as Special Guest of Honour, while the Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Amor Mottley, will serve as keynote speaker, bringing a global perspective to economic transformation and strategic development.
According to him, the target of catalyzing up to five billion dollars in structural investment commitments to the region is both ambitious and achievable, with the potential to generate over five hundred thousand direct and indirect jobs while strengthening the regional economy.
Ambassador Ogan affirmed that investment opportunities cut across agro-industry and food security, manufacturing, industrial clusters, infrastructure and logistics, blue economy, marine enterprise, tourism, creative economy, technology and digital innovation, as well as gas commercialisation, among other key sectors.
He noted that the flagship project pipeline reflects both ambition and practicality. These include the Niger Delta Rural and Urban Mobility Scheme to enhance movement between communities and markets; an agro-food hub and integrated logistics system to boost processing, packaging, storage, and market access; as well as the Asaba cargo flight system aimed at improving commercial freight connectivity.
The NDDCITMA Chairman also highlighted the Niger Delta Science and Technology Park, which will serve as a hub for technology incubation, applied innovation, and enterprise development, further driving growth in the region.
He appealed to Niger Delta governors to embrace the summit as a collective regional economic platform rather than a single-institution initiative, urging them to support policy and infrastructure reforms and present the Niger Delta to investors as a unified economic bloc.
Ambassador Ogan also called on Chambers of Commerce across the Niger Delta states and other business associations to align their efforts, stressing that no single state can unlock the full economic potential of the region in isolation.
He emphasised that the Niger Delta is open for business and partnerships, noting that the time has come to move from discussions to implementation, from potential to productivity, and from a region known for resource extraction to one recognised for value creation, innovation, and shared prosperity.
According to him, the summit is designed to unlock bankable opportunities and deliver practical outcomes that will have visible impact on the lives of the people, describing it as a collective response to the region’s development challenges.
Also speaking, the Secretary of the Niger Delta Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Trade, Mines and Agriculture and Chairman of the Local Organising Committee of the Summit, Chief Solomon Edebiri, said the summit is a strategic initiative aimed at repositioning the Niger Delta as a competitive hub for investment, enterprise development, and sustainable industrialisation.
He expressed optimism that the summit will attract increased investment inflows, create new opportunities across the region, and drive economic diversification.
Leave a Reply