The Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) has proposed the establishment of the Niger Delta Infrastructure and Development Fund (NDIDF), a new financing platform designed to mobilise domestic and international capital for infrastructure and economic development across the region.
PANDEF National Chairman, Ambassador Godknows Igali, announced the proposed fund while speaking at the Niger Delta Investment Summit in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
Igali said the NDIDF would operate as a professionally managed, capital-market-driven vehicle to raise long-term financing for carefully selected infrastructure and development projects across the Niger Delta.
He said the initiative was necessary to complement years of government interventions, statutory allocations and derivation funds, which, according to him, had not produced the level of infrastructure and economic transformation required to fully unlock the region’s potential.
The PANDEF chairman identified agriculture, fisheries, tourism, maritime business, manufacturing, technology and energy as sectors with significant investment opportunities, but said much of their potential remained untapped.
Rather than focusing on the region’s challenges, Igali said PANDEF was seeking practical mechanisms capable of attracting investment, creating jobs and generating sustainable wealth.
“What is needed at this time is action—action that is strategic, intentional, disciplined and focused,” he said.
According to Igali, the proposed NDIDF would seek capital from private-sector investors, multinational companies, development partners, the capital market and Nigerians in the diaspora.
Funds raised would be channelled into viable, bankable projects under a transparent governance framework designed to promote accountability and protect long-term investor value.
“The NDIDF 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,” he said.
Igali disclosed that PANDEF had begun consultations with private-sector stakeholders, diaspora groups and the South-South Governors’ Forum, describing the response to the initiative as encouraging.
He also acknowledged the support of the Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Dr. Emomotimi Agama, for the proposed investment platform.
The proposed fund, he said, would be overseen by an independent Board of Trustees comprising representatives of state governments, private-sector operators, professional fund managers and other relevant stakeholders.
The governance structure, he added, was intended to ensure transparency, professionalism and credibility in the management and deployment of the fund.
As part of the next phase of the initiative, PANDEF plans to convene a high-level stakeholders’ meeting before the end of the year to engage prospective investors, development partners and other stakeholders ahead of the formal establishment of the fund.
Igali called on governments, businesses, traditional institutions, development partners and Niger Delta indigenes at home and abroad to support efforts to build a more productive regional economy.
“Let us move from dependence to investment; from consumption to production; and from the exploitation of resources to the creation of lasting wealth,” he said.
He said the proposed initiative would help transform the Niger Delta’s natural resources into productive assets capable of attracting investment, creating employment and supporting sustainable economic growth for future generations.
