PANDEF Plans Investment Fund to Drive Niger Delta Development

The Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) has proposed a new investment fund to mobilise long-term capital for infrastructure and economic development across the Niger Delta.

The proposed Niger Delta Infrastructure and Development Fund (NDIDF) will target domestic and international investors to finance projects capable of transforming the region’s economy.

PANDEF National Chairman, Ambassador Godknows Igali, announced the initiative at the Niger Delta Investment Summit in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

Igali said the fund would operate as a professionally managed and capital-market-driven platform for raising funds for major projects across the region.

He said years of government interventions, statutory allocations and derivation funds had not delivered the scale of infrastructure and economic transformation needed in the Niger Delta.

According to him, the region has major opportunities in agriculture, fisheries, tourism, maritime business, manufacturing, technology and energy.

However, he said many of these sectors remain largely underdeveloped despite the region’s vast natural and economic resources.

Igali said PANDEF would focus on practical measures to stimulate investment, create wealth and promote sustainable development.

“What is needed at this time is action—action that is strategic, intentional, disciplined and focused,” he said.

He explained that the NDIDF would complement existing development institutions rather than compete with them.

The fund would seek capital from private investors, multinational companies, development partners, the capital market and Nigerians living abroad.

Igali said the fund would channel the resources into carefully selected and commercially viable projects.

He added that a transparent governance structure would guide the management of the fund and protect investors’ interests.

“The NDIDF is not envisaged as a replacement for existing institutions,” he said.

“Rather, it is designed as a complementary capital-aggregation and project-delivery vehicle that can crowd in private capital and accelerate development.”

Igali disclosed that PANDEF had held consultations with private sector stakeholders, diaspora groups and the South-South Governors’ Forum.

He said the responses to the proposal had so far been encouraging.

The PANDEF chairman also acknowledged the support of the Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Dr Emomotimi Agama, for the initiative.

He said the proposed fund would have an independent Board of Trustees.

The board would include representatives of state governments, private sector operators, professional fund managers and other relevant stakeholders.

According to Igali, the arrangement would promote transparency, professionalism and confidence in the fund.

PANDEF plans to convene a high-level stakeholders’ meeting before the end of the year.

The meeting will bring together prospective investors and development partners ahead of the fund’s formal establishment.

Igali urged governments, businesses, traditional institutions and development partners to support the initiative.

He also called on Niger Delta indigenes in Nigeria and the diaspora to participate in efforts to strengthen the 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 initiative would help turn the region’s natural resources into productive assets that create jobs and attract fresh investments.