KEY POINTS
- The Niger Delta Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Trade and Agriculture (NDCCITMA) has called for a strategic shift to close a N25 trillion GDP gap between the Niger Delta and the South-West.
- At a business roundtable in Port Harcourt on Thursday, officials noted the South-West leads with a GDP of N59 trillion, while the Niger Delta follows at N34 trillion.
- The chamber highlighted a massive disparity in exports, noting that Lagos records $200 million in annual air exports compared to Port Harcourt’s $20,000.
- Board Chairman Mr. Idare Gogo Ogan warned that reliance on political narratives like militancy and amnesty has failed to deliver meaningful economic progress.
MAIN STORY
The Niger Delta Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Trade and Agriculture (NDCCITMA) has urged the Niger Delta region to improve its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by exploring new development strategies.
The Secretary of the Board of the NDCCITMA, Mr. Solomon Edebiri, made the remark during the Niger Delta Business Roundtable meeting organised by the chamber in Port Harcourt on Thursday. The meeting, themed “Creating a New Development Agenda for the Niger Delta Region,” focused on closing the economic gap of approximately N25 trillion to measure up with the South-West.
Edebiri explained that while the South-West currently leads with an estimated GDP of about N59 trillion, the Niger Delta follows with about N34 trillion. He stressed the need to bridge this gap by unlocking the region’s vast untapped potential, noting that sustained economic growth would significantly reduce unemployment and curb militancy.
Highlighting the region’s underperformance in export activity, he noted that while Lagos records about $200 million in annual air exports, Port Harcourt accounts for just about $20,000.
Earlier, the Chairman of the Board of NDCCITMA, Mr. Idare Gogo Ogan, called for a strategic shift in the region’s development approach. He warned that reliance on politically driven narratives—such as derivation, militancy, ecological damage, and amnesty—had failed to deliver sustainable growth over the decades. Ogan noted that while the nine Niger Delta states account for one-fifth of Nigeria’s economy, these endowments have not translated into productivity or investor confidence. He urged stakeholders to prioritize security, power, and logistics as the “operating system” of the regional economy.
THE ISSUES
The primary challenge identified by stakeholders is the “weak conversion” of regional opportunities into bankable and financeable projects. Despite holding the nation’s primary gas reserves and maritime access points, the region suffers from a lack of value chain depth. Furthermore, the massive gap in air export figures between Lagos and Port Harcourt suggests a significant bottleneck in logistics and infrastructure that prevents the region from competing on a global scale beyond the oil and gas sector.
WHAT’S BEING SAID
- “The Niger Delta follows with about N34 trillion… we must bridge the gap by unlocking the region’s vast untapped potential,” stated Solomon Edebiri.
- “Agitation and restiveness can no longer guarantee development outcomes,” noted Idare Gogo Ogan.
- “The major challenge is not the absence of opportunities but the weak conversion of such opportunities into bankable projects,” Ogan added.
WHAT’S NEXT
- The roundtable aims to move stakeholders from broad declarations to practical commitments over the next 12 to 24 months.
- The chamber plans to redefine business direction by mentoring enterprises and improving access to finance for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).
- NDDC Managing Director Dr. Samuel Ogbuku urged regional stakeholders to invest at home, calling for a shift in mindset toward greater patriotism and intentional reforms to attract investors.
BOTTOM LINE
The Bottom Line is that the Niger Delta is tired of “political” solutions to “economic” problems. By highlighting the N25 trillion gap with the South-West, the NDCCITMA is demanding a move away from the “amnesty and derivation” talk toward a focus on exports, MSME financing, and bankable infrastructure projects.
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