Delta Governor Oborevwori Woos Brazilian Investors, Showcases Delta’s Vast Opportunities

Delta State Governor, Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori, has called on the Brazilian business community to take advantage of the vast investment opportunities available in the state, stressing that Delta is strategically positioned to become a hub for trade, agriculture, energy, and industrial development in Nigeria and West Africa.

Speaking at the Delta State-Focused Business and Investment Roundtable in São Paulo, Brazil, on Thursday, Governor Oborevwori highlighted the state’s natural endowments, strategic location, and ongoing reforms aimed at creating an enabling environment for investors.

The governor underscored the long-standing ties between Nigeria and Brazil, pointing to similarities in population size, agricultural potential, cultural diversity, tropical climate, and shared passion for football. He described the roundtable as a platform to forge strategic partnerships that would accelerate sustainable development for both countries.

Since its creation in 1991, Oborevwori explained, Delta has evolved into one of the top five largest economies in Nigeria, with a landmass of over 18,000 square kilometres and a population exceeding six million people. He said Delta is blessed with vast natural resources and youthful human capital, making it an attractive investment destination.

“Delta is Nigeria’s leading producer of crude oil and holds the largest natural gas reserves in the country, with two major export terminals in Escravos and Forcados,” he stated.

The governor also pointed to the state’s long coastline, four seaports, and the ongoing concession of the Burutu Seaport, which he said has the potential to become a major trans-shipment hub for West and South-West Africa. He further listed the state’s strong agricultural prospects in cassava, palm produce, rice, maize, aquaculture, and livestock, alongside deposits of kaolin, silica, coal, lignite, and iron ore available for commercial exploitation.

On infrastructure, Oborevwori emphasized Delta’s connectivity to major Nigerian markets such as Lagos, Onitsha, and Aba, while boasting of three functional airports and an extensive road network that has been expanded under his administration to ease movement of goods and services.

Since assuming office in May 2023, he said his government has prioritised improving the ease of doing business through tax harmonisation, the creation of free trade zones in Koko and Kwale, and the enactment of investor-friendly laws. Delta was also recognised in 2024 by the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources as the safest state in Nigeria for oil and gas investments.

He disclosed that the state is advancing its agro-industrialisation agenda with the development of a 180-hectare Agro-Industrial Park designed to host up to 30 processing plants, while also introducing new public-private partnership models in housing, energy, and manufacturing.

According to him, Delta has also adopted a decentralised mini-grid model to boost sustainable energy supply and drive industrialisation.

Oborevwori expressed keen interest in learning from Brazil’s world-renowned ranching system, noting that Delta is eager to replicate aspects of the model to boost livestock production.

“I eagerly look forward to partnering with the business community of Brazil for our mutual benefit,” the governor concluded.