Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt
The Niger Delta Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Trade, Mines and Agriculture (NDCCITMA) has identified governments of the nine Niger Delta states, Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and others as critical development partners in efforts to build a sustainable regional investment ecosystem.
The Chairman of the Chamber, Idaere Gogo Ogan, stated this at the weekend in Port Harcourt during a pre-summit briefing ahead of the Niger Delta Economic and Investment Summit scheduled to hold from September 15 to 17, 2026, in the Rivers State capital.
The summit, with the theme, ‘Driving Investment, Innovation and Industrial Growth in the Niger Delta,’ is positioned as a private-sector-led platform to attract investments, facilitate transactions and unlock the region’s economic potential.
Ogan said the objective was to bring together the nine Niger Delta states, the Federal Government, NDDC, organised private sector, domestic and international investors, development finance institutions, multilateral organisations, financial institutions, project developers and other strategic partners.
He said the ultimate goal was to move the region away from its predominantly resource-dependent economy towards a diversified, productive, industrialised and globally competitive regional economy.
According to him, the challenges confronting the Niger Delta were, to a large extent, self-inflicted and could not be resolved overnight without stronger collaboration between governments and the private sector.
“Several things have been happening across the Niger Delta, but this summit will begin to address them, starting with government and the private sector working together to create policies that will address the challenges,” he said.
Ogan stressed that the summit would not be another conference for exchanging ideas without concrete action, but an investment and transaction platform designed to connect investors, governments, project promoters, financial institutions and development partners with bankable projects.
“Our emphasis will be on moving from conversations to transactions, from opportunities to projects, and from commitments to implementation,” he said.
He identified gas and petrochemicals, agriculture and agro-processing, maritime and the blue economy, manufacturing, aviation and transportation, renewable energy, tourism, digital economy, logistics, infrastructure and financial services as areas with significant investment potential.
He said the summit would showcase strategic projects, including agro-industrial and oil-palm value chains, gas utilisation and gas-based industries, regional transportation and aviation, maritime infrastructure, industrial and logistics hubs, renewable energy, manufacturing, skills development and digital infrastructure.
Ogan also called for greater economic integration among the nine Niger Delta states, noting that the region would derive greater benefits by leveraging its collective strengths rather than operating as isolated markets.
The NDCCITMA chairman urged investors in Nigeria and across the world to take advantage of the opportunities available in the region, declaring: “The Niger Delta is open for business.”
He added that the region was ready for investment and partnerships capable of creating a new economic future founded on enterprise, innovation, industrialisation and sustainable development.
Meanwhile, counsel to NDCCITMA, Mr Sammie Somiari (SAN), said the organisers were committed to conducting the summit in compliance with applicable laws and regulatory requirements.
Somiari disclosed that in a suit instituted by Kenule Nwiya Jnr, over alleged trademark infringement, the court had restrained the plaintiff from further interfering with the summit being organised by NDCCITMA.
He therefore assured participants that there was no legal encumbrance to the summit, adding that it would proceed as scheduled.