By Charles Olewezi
The Pan-Niger Delta Forum, PANDEF, has announced plans to establish a dedicated financing vehicle – the Niger Delta Infrastructure and Development Fund, NDIDF – to mobilise long-term capital for the transformation of the region.
National Chairman of PANDEF, Ambassador Dr. Godknows Igali, OON, unveiled the plan on Monday at the Niger Delta Economic and Investment Summit (NDEIS) in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, organised by the Niger Delta Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Trade, Mines and Agriculture.
In his address, Igali said the Niger Delta must move beyond lamentations over missed opportunities to affirmative action that converts its vast resources into productive wealth.
Igali said successive interventions – statutory allocations, derivation, NDDC and state government programmes – have taken the region to where it is today but have failed to deliver substantial infrastructure or transform the economy beyond crude oil.
”We are still largely known for our crude oil production. Yet, the Niger Delta is endowed with enormous opportunities in agriculture, fisheries, aquaculture, tourism, maritime activities, manufacturing, energy, technology,” he said.
He described the situation as a development paradox where the region’s wealth is not yielding maximum value to its people.
To close the gap, he said PANDEF is proposing the NDIDF – a special-purpose, professionally governed, capital-market-anchor fund.
According to him, the Fund will be a blended-finance platform aggregating resources from Niger Delta people, multinational partners, diaspora investors and the capital market, and deploying them into a disciplined pipeline of bankable, transformational projects.
”It is not envisaged as a replacement for existing institutions. Rather, it is designed as a complementary capital-aggregation and project-delivery vehicle that can crowd in private capital and accelerate development,” Igali stated.
He stressed that every naira raised will be responsibly invested, traceable and directed to projects that create enduring value.
Igali assured stakeholders that the NDIDF will not become another white-elephant project.
He disclosed that in the past one year, PANDEF has consulted widely with private-sector stakeholders and the diaspora community, with encouraging response. The idea has also been presented to the South-South Governors’ Forum.
He commended the Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Dr. Emomotimi Agama, for his enthusiasm for the initiative.
On governance, Igali said the Fund will be constituted through a trust deed with nominees from state governments, leading private-sector operators and professional fund managers. A non-partisan Board of Trustees from the private sector will ensure credibility and independence, while fund managers will be selected on competence and integrity.
The Fund will work closely with the NDDC, Niger Delta Chambers of Commerce, BRACED institutions and other strategic partners, but the private sector will play the leading role. PANDEF will only play a strategic and facilitative role.
Igali announced that PANDEF will host a high-level dinner before the end of the year in Lagos, Port Harcourt or Abuja to present detailed plans to prospective partners, leading to formation of an advisory committee of credible professionals.
He called for collective action, urging governments, traditional institutions, private sector, development partners and diaspora to join.
”Let us move from dependence to investment; from consumption to production; and from the exploitation of resources to the creation of lasting wealth.
”The wealth of the Niger Delta must not merely be consumed today; it must be converted into productive assets, institutions and opportunities that will continue to create value for generations to come,” he said.
The Niger Delta Economic & Investment Summit (NDEIS) 2026 officially kicked off with delegate arrivals on Monday, September 14, 2026, at the Obi Wali International Conference Centre in Port Harcourt (PH), Rivers State.Organized by the Niger Delta Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Trade, Mines and Agriculture (NDCCITMA) in partnership with the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC). The summit focuses on the theme: “Driving Investment, Innovation and Industrial Growth in the Niger Delta.