Niger Delta stakeholders debate $160bn resource allocation and economic transition

At the inaugural Niger Delta Economic and Investment Summit in Port Harcourt, stakeholders addressed the disconnect between the region's vast natural resource wealth and its lack of development. Business leader Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede estimated that the region and its local governments have received approximately $160 billion in federal allocations and development resources over the last 27 years.

Aig-Imoukhuede argued that the primary challenge is the inability to convert these resources into productive assets, infrastructure, and improved living standards. Supporting this concern, World Trade Organisation Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala noted that roughly 48 per cent of the region's 50 million people—approximately 24 million individuals—are multidimensionally poor, citing significant gaps in sanitation and clean water access.

Chief Ndutimi Alaibe, former Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission, emphasized the need for the region to transition from six decades of raw-material extraction toward becoming a hub for production, processing, and logistics. He stated that the region must move beyond oil dependence by leveraging its historical trading roots and improving accountability and infrastructure to unlock sustainable economic opportunities.