The Director-General of the World Trade Organization, WTO, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has called for urgent economic regeneration of the Niger Delta, citing poor human development indicators and high levels of multidimensional poverty in the region.
Okonjo-Iweala made the call in a goodwill message delivered at the Niger Delta Economic and Investment Summit in Port Harcourt, where she urged the Niger Delta Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Trade, Mines and Agriculture, NDCCITMA, to take the lead in attracting investments into the region.
She said available 2022 data showed that only four Niger Delta states were among Nigeria’s top 10 states on the Human Development Index, which measures progress in education, health and living standards. She also said about 48 percent, or roughly 24 million people, of the region’s estimated 50 million population were multidimensionally poor.
The WTO Director-General called for stronger collaboration between the private sector and governments in the region to establish viable Special Economic Zones, SEZs, with the necessary infrastructure and regulatory support to drive industrialisation and economic regeneration.
She also identified opportunities in global supply chains, critical minerals and the digital economy, noting that the Niger Delta could leverage the African Continental Free Trade Area, AfCFTA, to position itself as a manufacturing and investment hub.
Okonjo-Iweala further stressed the need to improve infrastructure, port efficiency, digital connectivity and project execution while reducing trade costs to strengthen investor confidence and unlock the region’s economic potential.
