Delta State has taken a bold step onto the global stage, following Governor Sheriff Oborevwori’s high-profile engagement at an international infrastructure and investment forum held in Macau, China, a move being described by officials as both strategic and visionary for the state’s development trajectory.
Speaking during a press briefing in Asaba on Wednesday, June 18, 2025, the Commissioner for Public Information, Mr. Charles Aniagwu, said the Governor’s invitation to the global event was a reflection of growing international recognition of Delta State’s model of infrastructural excellence, fiscal responsibility, and project integrity.
“This wasn’t just another government trip. Governor Oborevwori was invited by the organizers of this high-level infrastructure forum in partnership with the government of Macau and the Chinese central government,” Aniagwu said.
“The invitation came on the strength of his administration’s consistent commitment to quality project execution and prompt payment of certified contractors, two key indicators the global construction community doesn’t overlook.”
The forum, which brought together major international construction giants and infrastructure investors, provided an avenue for Governor Oborevwori to present the state’s project delivery approach to a global audience.
According to Aniagwu, the Governor’s emphasis on compliance with the Bill of Engineering Measurement and Evaluation (BEME) and his aversion to “deal-making politics” earned the admiration of industry leaders, including the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC).
“We were particularly proud to see that even the top leadership of the CCECC acknowledged the efforts of the Oborevwori administration,” Aniagwu stated.
“It affirms that the Governor means business and is fast earning a reputation as a seeker of excellence.”
But beyond ceremonial participation, the delegation’s presence opened doors for strategic conversations, particularly around innovative solutions like waste-to-energy technologies.
Aniagwu noted that during the exhibition segment of the event, the Delta team explored advanced waste management systems that transform environmental liabilities into energy assets.
“We had meaningful interactions with companies pioneering waste-to-energy systems, and we are now actively considering how such partnerships could be localized in Delta State, either through private investment or public-private collaboration,” Aniagwu revealed.
“It’s part of our broader vision to reposition Delta as not just a sub-national player, but a global stakeholder in sustainable development.”
He stressed that the Governor’s inclusion in the Macau event signals not only recognition, but a challenge: to keep raising the bar in infrastructural governance, transparency, and innovation.
“This tour validated what we already knew, the Oborevwori model is gaining traction internationally. What we saw in China reinforces our belief that Delta is on the right track,” the Commissioner added.
The Governor’s tour, observers note, is a continuation of his administration’s deliberate push to attract international goodwill, technical expertise, and investments that align with Delta’s economic priorities and infrastructural agenda.
As plans to consolidate some of these exploratory talks into tangible agreements evolve, the Oborevwori-led government appears focused on translating global exposure into grassroots impact, where roads, power, and public utilities reflect not just local aspirations, but global best practices.
His words: “Now coming to China, it is an invitation that we take pride in and why so?
“There are not too many top government functionaries, particularly from this side of the globe that were invited for this very high power forum where you have major construction companies assembled in Macau, a prominent Special Administrative Region (SAR), of China, it is a different country entirely.
“We were invited on account of two major policies of the Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori administration; his desire for excellence in terms of the job that is been executed.
“His story of his believe that projects should be well executed has gone global and that earn him a place in that conference.
“Is the very unprecedented approach to both project mobilization and prompt payment of certificates that are raised genuinely.
“These are contractors across the globe who also do or carry out jobs of construction work in different parts of the globe.
“They have seen that the Oborevwori model, it is good for development and in that conference, the governor was also able to give a very good account even on the sidelines of the conference for us to still insist that anybody who also wants to come and do business with Delta must have at the back of his mind, quality jobs and not a question of deal making.
“And we felt very proud that even as much as the top management of the CCECC, for such a company to recognize also, the efforts of our administration, it is something that we as Deltans, we should be proud of.
“You will be happy that we are having a relationship that they recognize that our governor meant business and indeed, he is seeker of excellence.
“But beyond being invited, we were also psychologically tuned to understand that our governor is on the right path.
“Because wants you are able to ensure that projects are carried out according to the Bill of Engineering Measurement and Evaluation (BEME), be rest assured that the same quality of roads that you see in the major cities of China, will also be guaranteed.
“And that the only way that you can guarantee such high quality projects is to ensure that the terms of the contracts are adhere to.
“So, we were quite convinced seeing the kind of infrastructure that is at display and in the course of our tour of the exhibition booth, we also saw some need to begin to form some level of collaboration with so e other international players particularly in the aspect of waste to energy.
“And we are hoping that we will begin to push through that particular conversation so that at the end of the day, we could see how we can take advantage of such facilities so that at the end of the day further position our State in a global community as not just a local player but as a global stakeholder in the comity of nations.
“The forum that we went for, is a targeted forum, an infrastructure, investment and international level and of course, exhibition and so our discussion is a long that corridor.
“We had some interaction at the point of exhibition with a number of companies and we were quite pleased with what we saw in respect to waste to energy processes.
“We saw a company that is transforming waste materials from dumps that is available everywhere and has become a challenge for us across the length and breathe of this country but that you can convert it and use it to generate energy and power in your homes that is an area of interest.
“And we are quite convinced in the thinking of the governor that we will advance that discussion so that we could see how possibly we could attract that kind of investment either at the private sector level or perhaps through the process of partnership, that is something we are looking at.
“And let me make it clear, we didn’t go because the CCECC was the one that asked us to come. We went because the organizers of that event in collaboration with both the Macau government and the Chinese government saw that our governor from the records they are seeing has shown a whole lot of commitment both to solid infrastructure and prompt payment of contracts that are awarded.
“So the organizers of that international forum extended that invitation to us and so on the sidelines, CCECC also took advantage to be able to take us to their headquarters where they exhibited a whole lot of things that they are doing and we are quite convinced that they have the capacity to be able to carry on a whole lot of legacy projects”, he said.
