Tinubu, Barbadian PM For Inaugural Niger Delta Economic, Investment Summit

President Bola Tinubu and the prime minister of Barbados, Hon. Mia Amor Mottley, will be in attendance at the inaugural Niger Delta Economic and Investment Summit and Exhibition, scheduled to hold in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, between May 19 and May 21, 2026.

While Tinubu will be the special guest of honour, Mottley will be the keynote speaker at the summit, which has the theme: “Driving Investment, Innovation and Industrial Growth in the Niger Delta.”

President of the Niger Delta Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Trade, Mines and Agriculture (NDCCITMA), Ambassador Idaere Gogo-Ogan, disclosed this yesterday while speaking during a pre-summit press conference in Port Harcourt.

Gogo-Ogan, who stated that the presence of the Barbadian leader at the event will bring a global perspective on economic transformation and strategic development, pointed out that the summit will not be another gathering, but a deliberate platform for investment mobilisation, enterprise growth, industrial expansion and regional coordination.

“This summit is not simply another gathering. It is a deliberate platform for investment mobilisation, enterprise growth, industrial expansion and regional coordination. This is our moment to move from discussion to delivery, from potential to productivity, and from a region known mainly for extraction to one recognised for value creation, innovation and shared prosperity, he said.

The NDCCITMA president called on the governors of the nine Niger Delta states and chambers of commerce across the region, to embrace the forthcoming summit as a regional economic platform and not as a project of one institution alone.

Gogo-Ogan said: “At this critical hour, I wish to make direct and respected appeal to the governors of Abia, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo, Imo, Ondo and Rivers States. This summit should be embraced as a regional economic platform, not as a project of a single institution.

“I call on every governor in the Niger Delta to join hands with NDCCITMA, align with this shared agenda, present priority opportunities from their States, support policy and infrastructure reforms and help project the Niger Delta to investors as one region with many strengths and future worth building together.

“I also called on all chambers of commerce across the nine states and on sister business associations throughout the region, to stand with us in purpose and action. This is the time for the organised private sector to speak with one voice.”

Also speaking at the pre-summit press conference, NDCCITMA board secretary, Chief Solomon Edebiri, stated that during the recently-concluded Niger Delta Roundtable, stakeholders identified numerous and significant investment opportunities across the region, available for investors to explore.

Edebiri said some of the sectors are agriculture and agro-processing, gas-based industries and energy, marine and blue economy, manufacturing and industrial clusters, amongst others.