Former Bayelsa State Tourism Board Director-General, Hon. Macaulay Jokori, has said infrastructure projects by the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, could help unlock the region’s tourism potential.
Jokori, a hospitality entrepreneur, businessman, farmer and tourism practitioner, said tourism development depended heavily on access, security, electricity, healthcare and other essential infrastructure.
He made the remarks during an interaction with the Ogbuku Impact Series team led by its Lead Convener, Okaniba Damson.
Jokori said tourist attractions would remain difficult to commercialise when visitors could not reach them conveniently or when supporting services were inadequate.
He cited the 25.7-kilometre Ogbia-Nembe Road in Bayelsa as an example of infrastructure that could have wider economic implications.
The NDDC says the project, executed in partnership with Shell Petroleum Development Company, includes seven bridges and has reduced travel time between Yenagoa and Nembe.
Jokori said improved access could make Nembe’s history, traditional institutions, festivals, cuisine and cultural heritage more accessible to visitors and investors.
He also pointed to bridge projects in other parts of the region.
In Akwa Ibom, the NDDC commissioned the 600-metre Ibeno Bridge and a 6.87-kilometre connecting road. The commission says the project links 20 communities previously separated by the Qua Iboe River.
In Rivers State, construction is ongoing on the 1.2-kilometre Kaa-Ataba Bridge linking Khana and Andoni local government areas.
Jokori said such projects could provide the physical connections needed to develop tourism corridors across the Niger Delta.
The tourism entrepreneur also identified cultural festivals as potential drivers of visitor activity.
He referenced the 2024 Eyal Obeyin Festival in Ayakoro, Bayelsa State, where NDDC Managing Director Samuel Ogbuku pledged support for the annual event.
The festival commemorates Ayakoro’s relocation from its erosion-threatened settlement to its present location in 1958.
Jokori said festivals could introduce visitors to local history, food, music, crafts and traditions when supported by roads, accommodation, security and other visitor services.
He said the cultural diversity of communities including Ijaw, Kalabari, Itsekiri, Urhobo, Isoko, Nembe, Ogoni, Ibibio, Efik and Oron provided a broad foundation for cultural and heritage tourism.
Historical sites connected to indigenous commerce, missionary activities, colonial administration and the transatlantic slave trade could also become heritage attractions, he said, provided they were preserved and properly documented.
Jokori linked the NDDC’s “Light Up the Niger Delta” programme to tourism and the region’s night-time economy.
According to him, improved lighting could support hotels, restaurants, entertainment venues, festivals and other businesses operating after dark.
He also identified security as essential to attracting visitors, investors and event organisers.
A destination, he noted, could possess significant cultural and ecological attractions but still struggle to attract visitors without adequate safety.
Jokori therefore connected NDDC’s engagement with security agencies and community-level interventions to the wider conditions required for tourism investment.
He similarly identified healthcare as an important component of tourism planning, noting that medical facilities support residents, visitors, workers and businesses around tourism destinations.
Jokori said the growth of the Orange Economy could further connect tourism with music, film, fashion, food, crafts, photography, entertainment and digital content.
He cited NDDC’s support for the three-year Discover Bonny and Orange Economy programme in August 2026, which linked tourism with enterprise development, investment promotion, security, communications, education and health.
He said the resulting tourism economy could create opportunities for tour guides, photographers, caterers, transport operators, farmers, designers, musicians, artisans, event managers and content creators.
Jokori suggested that communities including Nembe, Ayakoro, Akassa, Brass, Oloibiri and Bonny could potentially form interconnected tourism experiences around heritage, waterways, festivals, cuisine and traditional arts.
He stressed that such development would require sustained investment in access, security, hospitality, promotion and destination management.
“These sectors can intersect with tourism: roads and bridges improve access, healthcare supports destination resilience, education provides skills, streetlights support commerce and security, while cultural initiatives provide the attractions around which tourism businesses can develop.
“I want to therefore commend the Ogbuku-led NDDC for its contribution to creating the infrastructure and enabling conditions for a broader tourism economy, because infrastructure alone would not make the Niger Delta a global destination.”
