How ongoing Niger Delta investment summit will move region to prosperity

…As NDCCITMA says, NDDC, oil states key to regional investments

Idaere Ogan, chairman of the Niger Delta Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Trade, Mines and Agriculture (NDCCITMA), has assured that the template for the investment summit that just ended in Port Harcourt would transform the Niger Delta region from potential to certain prosperity.

He has also identified the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and the governments of the nine Niger Delta states as development partners in building a sustainable regional investment ecosystem.

Addressing newsmen at the Obi Wali Cultural Centre in Port Harcourt, Ogan reaffirmed NDCCITMA’s commitment to successfully hosting the Niger Delta Economic and Investment Summit from September 15 to 17, 2026, in Port Harcourt.

The chairman said the Summit was a strategic, private-sector-led platform to mobilise investment and unlock the Niger Delta region’s economic potential, anchored on the theme: “Driving Investment, Innovation and Industrial Growth in the Niger Delta.”

He stated: “Our vision is to bring together the nine Niger Delta states, the Federal Government, the NDDC, organised private sector, domestic and international investors, development finance institutions, multilateral organisations, financial institutions, project developers and other strategic partners around a common objective: To transform the Niger Delta from a predominantly resource-dependent economy into a diversified, productive, industrialised and globally competitive regional economy.”

He said the Summit was designed as an investment and transaction platform in all sectors: petrochemicals, agriculture, agro-processing, maritime and blue economy, manufacturing, aviation and transportation, renewable energy, tourism, digital economy, etc.

He added: “We intend to showcase strategic investment opportunities capable of transforming the regional economy, including infrastructure, industrial and logistics hubs, skills development, digital infrastructure and other high-impact projects.”

Also speaking, Lyna Okara, the NDDC Director of Commercial and Industrial Development, observed that the Summit would promote stronger economic integration among the nine Niger Delta states.

She noted that the investment forum would produce tangible outcomes: investment commitments, project partnerships, financing opportunities, policy recommendations, and clearly defined implementation frameworks.

Sammie Somiari SAN, Counsel to the legal representative of NDCCITMA, affirmed that the Summit organiser was committed to conducting its activities in accordance with applicable laws and regulatory requirements.

He noted that in a suit filed by Kenule Nwiya Jnr, founder of NDEIS, over an alleged trademark infringement, the court restrained the plaintiff from further interfering with the Summit being planned by the NDCCITMA.

Somiari assured that the Summit would proceed as planned, as there was no legal encumbrance to the economic and investment platform.