From Dependence to Investment: PANDEF Chairman Igali Unveils Niger Delta Infrastructure Fund, Declares ‘We Are More Than Oil and Gas’

Proposes capital-market driven fund to mobilise diaspora, private capital, SEC DG backs initiative

By Our Reporter
Port Harcourt,

The National Chairman of the Pan-Niger Delta Forum, PANDEF, Ambassador Dr. Godknows Igali, has unveiled plans for the establishment of the Niger Delta Infrastructure and Development Fund, NDIDF, a dedicated financing vehicle aimed at transforming the region from a rent-dependent economy to an investment-driven one.

Ambassador Igali announced the initiative on Monday, September 14, 2026, while delivering a keynote address at the Niger Delta Investment Summit organised by the Niger Delta Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Trade, Mines and Agriculture, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

Addressing traditional rulers, political leaders, investors and members of PANDEF’s Board of Trustees, Igali said the time has come for the region to abandon lamentations and take deliberate action to convert its vast natural endowments into lasting prosperity.

“It is quite pleasing that our focus today is not again to go on a journey of lamentations about what we have not been able to achieve, but rather to pursue affirmative action directed at bringing to the fore the abundant opportunities which exist around us,” he said.

A Paradox of Wealth and Underdevelopment

The former federal Permanent Secretary said while successive administrations have responded with statutory allocations, derivation-based transfers and intervention programmes, they have failed to deliver substantial infrastructure or transform the region into a productive economy.

He noted that despite being Nigeria’s economic engine, the Niger Delta remains largely known for crude oil production, while enormous opportunities in agriculture, fisheries, aquaculture, tourism, maritime, manufacturing, energy and technology remain untapped.

“There is a serious development paradox. The existing interventions have serious limitations. We need to complement them with new and innovative mechanisms for mobilising capital,” Igali stated.

The NDIDF Model

According to him, the proposed NDIDF will be a dedicated, professionally governed, capital-market-anchored and blended-finance platform designed to aggregate long-term domestic and international capital.

He explained that the Fund will pool resources from the people of the Niger Delta, multinational partners, diaspora investors and the capital market, and deploy them into a disciplined pipeline of bankable, transformational projects through a transparent and professionally validated process.

“The NDIDF is not envisaged as a replacement for existing institutions like the NDDC. Rather, it is designed as a complementary capital-aggregation and project-delivery vehicle that can crowd in private capital and accelerate development,” he clarified.

Igali insisted the project will not become a white elephant, revealing that PANDEF has in the last one year held extensive consultations with private-sector stakeholders, the diaspora community and the South-South Governors’ Forum, with encouraging responses.

He commended the Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, Dr. Emomotimi Agama, for his enthusiasm for the initiative and for efforts aimed at deepening Nigeria’s capital market.

On structure, he said the Fund will be established through a trust deed with a non-partisan Board of Trustees, professional fund managers selected on competence and integrity, and nominees from state governments and stakeholder groups. While promoted by PANDEF, he said the private sector will play the leading role and the Fund will operate independently.

A Call for the Future

Announcing next steps, Igali said PANDEF will convene a high-level dinner before the end of the year in Lagos, Port Harcourt or Abuja to present the blueprint to selected stakeholders, leading to the formation of an advisory committee and formal take-off of the Fund.

He called for collective ownership by government, private sector, traditional institutions, development partners and the diaspora.

“At this critical time, when we are still one of the principal economic engines of the country, let us be wise enough to save and invest for the rainy days. We are more than oil and gas,” Igali declared.

“The wealth of the Niger Delta must not merely be consumed today, it must be converted into productive assets that will create value for generations to come. Let us move from dependence to investment, from consumption to production, and from the exploitation of resources to the creation of lasting wealth.”

He added: “The biggest sovereign wealth funds in the world were built through deliberate efforts to mobilise resources, save, invest and create institutions capable of preserving wealth.”