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By Marvis Ejovwoke
For three days, Asaba became the meeting point of ideas, capital, enterprise and economic possibilities as Delta State hosted one of the most significant investment-focused gatherings in its recent history. From August 3 to 5, 2026, the Delta State Economic and Investment Summit brought together political leaders, economists, captains of industry, international development experts, investors and some of Africa’s most respected voices on economic development.
But beyond the glamour of the names assembled at the summit was a much bigger message: Delta State is changing the way it sees its economic future. The theme, “Harnessing Our Strengths, Unlocking Our Potentials,” was not merely a slogan. It represented Governor Sheriff Oborevwori’s emerging economic philosophy — build the infrastructure, create the right business environment, reduce the risks for investors and then deliberately take Delta’s investment opportunities to the world. That is perhaps the most important significance of the summit.
For decades now, Delta’s economy has been closely associated with crude oil. Yet the state’s own investment prospectus now presents a more diversified picture, putting its 2024 GDP at approximately N16.97 trillion and estimating that the non-oil economy accounts for more than 71 per cent of output. The challenge before the Oborevwori administration is therefore not simply to announce that Delta has enormous potential. It is to convert that potential into factories, businesses, exports, jobs, technology, higher incomes and sustainable prosperity.
The summit was designed to begin that conversion. A state saying: we are ready. Perhaps nobody captured the new disposition more succinctly than the Secretary to the State Government and Chairman of the Summit Organising Committee, Dr Kingsley Emu. According to him, the Oborevwori administration had already laid the foundation for industrialisation through sustained investments in roads, bridges, electricity and transport infrastructure.
“The infrastructure has been provided. Government has created the enabling environment,” Emu declared, adding that investors could come to Delta and enjoy competitive energy costs that many other states could not offer. That is a significant departure from the traditional approach in which governments invite investors while leaving the private sector to grapple with inadequate infrastructure, difficult logistics and an unfriendly regulatory environment.
The Oborevwori administration is effectively saying: we have done our part; come and do business. The state’s investment pitch is strengthened by its strategic geography. Delta has a 163-kilometre coastline, four seaports, two airports, major oil and gas assets, agricultural land, solid minerals and an emerging blue economy. Its investment priorities include the Delta Special Economic Zone, energy, agriculture and agro-processing, mining, tourism, marine logistics, digital technology and infrastructure. This is the foundation upon which the Governor is attempting to build a new economic architecture.
The presence of Vice President Kashim Shettima at the opening ceremony gave the summit a national dimension.
Shettima did not merely praise the initiative. He described Delta as a “first-order investment destination”, urging domestic and international investors to take advantage of the opportunities emerging in the state. His message was significant because it placed Delta’s investment ambition within the broader economic reforms of the Federal Government.
The Vice President argued that Nigeria’s improving macroeconomic outlook, increased revenues to states and renewed international confidence were creating a better environment for long-term investment. He pointed to recent upgrades by international rating agencies as evidence that Nigeria was gradually regaining credibility.
For Delta, however, the more important part of his message was his identification of the state’s strategic assets — its coastline, ports, natural gas reserves, refining capacity, agriculture, blue economy and solid minerals.
In effect, Shettima was telling investors that Delta’s advantage is no longer simply that it is an oil-producing state. Its real strength lies in the combination of resources, geography, infrastructure and diversification.
Perhaps the boldest declaration of the summit came from Governor Oborevwori himself. He announced that Delta State had set aside US$100 million as Viability Gap Funding to de-risk strategic private-sector investments.
This is potentially one of the most consequential components of the state’s new investment strategy.
Investors do not necessarily avoid projects because the opportunities are unattractive. Often, they stay away because of risks — infrastructure gaps, financing uncertainties, regulatory concerns, currency exposure or the difficulty of making a project commercially viable in its early stages. Viability Gap Funding is designed to address precisely such challenges.
By putting public resources behind strategic private-sector projects, Delta is attempting to use government money not simply to build infrastructure itself but to unlock much larger pools of private capital. That is an important economic shift. Government becomes the catalyst rather than the sole financier.
Oborevwori made it clear that the summit was conceived to move beyond speeches and produce measurable investments capable of accelerating industrialisation, diversification and job creation. He disclosed that the initiative followed investment-promotion missions undertaken by the state to China and Brazil in 2025. The message is unmistakable: Delta intends to pursue investors rather than wait for investors to discover Delta.
If the Vice President provided the national endorsement, the keynote address by World Trade Organisation Director-General, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, provided the global economic perspective. Okonjo-Iweala, who described herself as a “Delta State optimist”, challenged the state to take advantage of the restructuring of global supply chains, AfCFTA and Nigeria’s economic reforms. Her intervention was particularly important because the world economy is changing. Companies are increasingly looking for new production locations, resilient supply chains, regional markets and efficient logistics.
Delta has several ingredients required to compete in that environment. The WTO chief urged the state to concentrate investment in strategic areas such as the Delta Special Economic Zone, agro-processing, blue economy, oil and gas value addition, marine logistics and digital infrastructure. She also stressed the importance of artificial intelligence and digital connectivity. This is crucial.
A modern economy cannot be built solely on roads, ports and factories. It must also be built on knowledge, technology and a workforce capable of competing in a digital world. For Delta’s young population, that could eventually become one of the most important legacies of the summit. Prof. Patrick Lumumba brought another dimension to the conversation.
The renowned Pan-Africanist challenged African governments and investors to develop greater confidence in Africa’s capacity to finance and drive its own development. His argument was simple but profound: Africa cannot continue to depend overwhelmingly on external capital while its own investors keep their money outside the continent.
Greater intra-African investment, he argued, would accelerate industrialisation, create employment and reduce dependence on foreign capital. For Delta, that message is particularly relevant. The state’s investment drive should not be seen exclusively as a search for foreign investors. There is enormous Nigerian and African capital that can be mobilised if investors are given confidence, security, infrastructure and attractive returns.
Anambra State Governor, Prof Charles Soludo, brought the perspective of another sub-national government attempting to reposition its economy.
He argued that Nigeria’s macroeconomic fundamentals had improved considerably, while advocating closer economic collaboration between Delta and Anambra state.
More importantly, he warned against treating investment promotion as an occasional event.
That is a lesson Delta must take seriously.
A successful summit is not measured by the number of dignitaries who attend, nor by the number of speeches delivered.
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It is measured by what happens after the guests leave.
Are investors followed up? Are agreements converted into projects? Are permits issued quickly? Are land and infrastructure made available? Are disputes resolved efficiently? Are incentives honoured? Are jobs created?
These are the questions that will ultimately determine whether the Asaba summit becomes a landmark or merely another entry in the state’s calendar of events.
Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Dr Taiwo Oyedele, used the summit to explain how the Federal Government’s economic reforms were increasing revenues available to states and local governments. But for Delta, energy may prove to be one of its most powerful competitive advantages.
Tony Elumelu, Chairman of Transcorp Power Holdings, pledged the company’s readiness to work with the Delta State Government to provide reliable electricity for industries and households.
In a country where the cost and reliability of electricity remain major constraints on manufacturing, that promise could be transformative. Cheap and reliable energy can make the difference between an investor choosing Delta and choosing somewhere else.
The presence of natural gas, power infrastructure and industrial opportunities gives the state the possibility of developing an integrated energy ecosystem rather than merely extracting resources and sending them elsewhere.
The summit also exposed the enormous possibilities outside the traditional oil economy.
Mosra Energy Chief Executive Officer Ramos Olukayode disclosed that Delta has more than 200 million tonnes of coal deposits in Obomkpa, Ukunzu and surrounding communities. The implication is enormous. Coal, lignite, kaolin, silica and other mineral resources can support manufacturing, construction materials, ceramics and other industries if exploited responsibly and sustainably.
Then came the revelation from UTM Gas Limited CEO Julius Rone that Delta’s ₦42 billion investment for an eight per cent stake in the company, made in 2022, is now valued at approximately ₦200 billion.
Rone also announced plans for UTM Gas to establish its corporate headquarters in Warri when operations commence fully in 2030. That announcement is important beyond the financial value of the state’s investment.
It illustrates the possibility of government acting as an investor and not merely as a regulator or spender.
The emerging economic strategy of Governor Oborevwori can therefore be discerned from the summit.
It is a strategy built around infrastructure, investment, diversification, partnerships and private capital.
The governor has also introduced tax incentives, including waivers on tenement rates, levies and other charges for qualifying investments for up to five years, while establishing an Ease of Doing Business Council to simplify investment processes. More than 12,000 hectares have been earmarked for commercial agriculture.
The 163-kilometre coastline is being presented as an opportunity for the blue economy.
Gas-fired power plants, renewable energy, solar farms and mini-grids are being promoted as part of the energy ecosystem. The Delta Special Economic Zone is expected to serve as a major industrial platform. Agriculture is being repositioned from primary production towards processing and value addition.
Digital infrastructure and innovation are being added to the equation. Taken together, these initiatives suggest that the administration’s economic ambition is moving from government-led development to investment-led development. That may ultimately be the most important story from the summit.
There is, however, one unavoidable truth.
The success of the Delta Economic and Investment Summit will not be determined in Asaba. It will be determined in Warri, Asaba, Sapele, Ughelli, Kwale, Koko, Obomkpa and communities across the state where investors either build factories or do not; where businesses either employ young people or remain absent; where goods are produced, processed and exported or where raw materials continue to leave the state without value addition.
The summit has opened the door. The $100 million Viability Gap Fund can help investors walk through it.
The infrastructure can make their businesses competitive.
The Special Economic Zone can provide the industrial platform. The coastline and ports can connect Delta to regional and global markets. The energy ecosystem can reduce production costs.
The tax incentives can improve the investment proposition.But the ultimate test will be execution. Governor Oborevwori has now thrown Delta’s doors open to investors. The challenge is to ensure that those doors remain open — not only during an investment summit, but every day. If the promises made in Asaba translate into factories, power projects, agro-processing plants, maritime businesses, technology hubs, mining enterprises and thousands of new jobs, the 2026 summit will be remembered not simply as a successful event, but as the moment Delta State decisively began writing a new economic story.
And that, ultimately, is the promise of Oborevwori’s new direction: a Delta whose wealth is no longer measured principally by what lies beneath its soil, but by what its people are able to produce, create, export and earn from it.
• Ejovwoke, an Economist and Development expert, writes from Abuja.
