The Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima, has launched the Niger Delta Agricultural Development and Investment Fund and inaugurated a Coordinating Council for agricultural development and investment in the Niger Delta region.

Speaking during the Niger Delta Agricultural Development and Investment Summit, at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja, Senator Shettima said that the summit was tied directly to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s agrarian programme under the Renewed Hope Agenda.

He noted that the summit would mobilise the collective commitment of government, investors, development partners, and the private sector to transform the Niger Delta’s agricultural potential into measurable economic progress.

The summit, jointly organised by the Office of the Vice President and the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, with the support of the governors of the nine Niger Delta mandate states. Was anchored on the theme: “Unlocking Investment for Sustainable Agricultural Transformation in the Niger Delta.”

The Vice President noted: “Before oil took centre stage in our economy, it was the soil that paid our bills. We must, therefore, return to agriculture for our economic development.”

In his remarks, the Minister of Regional Development, Engr. Abubakar Momoh, urged investors to see the Niger Delta through a lens that looks beyond oil and gas, stating that the region, apart from being an oil hub, was the power house for food security in Nigeria.

He observed: “The future of agriculture is in mechanised and innovative farming and the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu has placed agriculture at the heart of Nigeria’s economic development.”

The Chairman of the NDDC Governing Board, Mr Chiedu Ebie, remarked that although the Niger Delta region was known as “the home of oil and gas,” it must be recognised that it was also richly endowed with arable land for agriculture.

Ebie said: “We remain guided and aligned with the agricultural policies of the Federal Government. The eight presidential priorities encompassing food security, poverty eradication, job creation, and the fight against corruption serve as our roadmap toward a brighter and more prosperous Niger Delta.”

In his welcome address, the NDDC Managing Director, Dr Samuel Ogbuku,

Reaffirmed the Commission’s Board and Management’s commitment to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s mandate to change the narrative in Nigeria’s oil-producing region.

Ogbuku said the objective of the summit aligns with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, which seeks to diversify Nigeria’s economy, strengthen food security and create jobs through agriculture.

He said: “The Niger Delta has for decades been known for oil, but it is time to unlock the enormous opportunities beneath its fertile soil. Agriculture offers the region a pathway to food security, employment, investment and lasting prosperity.”

Ogbuku observed that infrastructure was a critical component in ensuring success in agricultural programmes. He stated that the NDDC was not relenting in building the necessary infrastructure, announcing that the Commission would soon complete the 1.2-kilometre Kaa-Ataba Bridge linking the Khana Local Government Area to the Andoni Local Government Area of Rivers State.

The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Dr Marcus Ogunbiyi, noted that ensuring food security remained a priority for President Tinubu’s administration. He stressed the importance of transitioning from subsistence to mechanised farming.

Speaking in the same vein, the keynote speaker at the summit, Prince S. J Samuel, restated that the Niger Delta region must embrace mechanised farming. He spoke on the topic: “Niger Delta: Awakening an Agricultural Giant.”

Giving a goodwill message, the Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Pastor Umo Eno, commended the NDDC for partnering with the Office of the Vice President to organise the agricultural summit.

The G’’ernor, who was represented by his deputy, Senator Akon Eyakenyi, said that the state government was committed to the revival of agriculture in the Niger Delta region.

Also speaking, the NDDC Executive Director, Projects, Dr Victor Antai, remarked that partnerships would provide the necessary energy to drive and sustain the development and investment plan discussed at the summit.

Earlier, the NDDC Director of Agriculture and Fisheries, Dr Winifred Madume, said that the next chapter of the Niger Delta must be written through agriculture, particularly modern and commercially driven agriculture that attracts investment, creates value, generates employment and competes globally.

She said: “The Niger Delta possesses the natural and economic fundamentals that investors seek. Our region is endowed with fertile land, abundant freshwater resources, diverse ecological zones, extensive coastline and inland waterways, and access to major domestic and export markets. Across our nine mandate states lies enormous potential for crop production, aquaculture, livestock, agro-processing and agricultural trade.”

This is not simply about growing more food. It is about building an agricultural economy that rewards investment, drives industrial growth and positions the Niger Delta as one of Nigeria’s leading destinations for agribusiness.

•Photo, R-L: The Managing Director, Dr Samuel Ogbuku; the Chairman of the NDDC Governing Board, Mr Chiedu Ebie; the Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima; the Minister of Regional Development, Engr. Abubakar Momoh; the Deputy Governor of Bayelsa State, Senator Akon Eyakenyi; the Executive Director, Finance and Administration, Alabo Boma Iyaye; the NDDC Executive Director Projects, Dr Victor Antai; and the Executive Director Corporate Services, Hon Ifedayo Abegunde, during the Niger Delta Agricultural Development and Investment Summit, at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

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