8 states records zero foreign investment in 5yrs as capital inflow into Nigeria dips by 26.4% to $3.9bn in 2023

Eight Nigerian states had no foreign investment flow in the last five years. According to National Bureau of Statistics NBS, the are; Bayelsa, Ebonyi, Gombe, Jigawa, Kebbi, Taraba, Yobe and Zamfara. NBS data showed that Lagos State topped the list of states, including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), that attracted the most foreign direct investments in 2023. The state raked in $2.50 billion, representing 64 per cent of the total capital inflow into the country, while the FCT emerged as the second top investment destination with $1.17 billion or 30 per cent of the total capital inflow.

Other states that attracted foreign investments in 2023 are Abia $150.09 million, Akwa Ibom $39.13 million, Ogun $27.09 million, and Rivers $6 million. Adamawa attracted $4.5 million, Anambra $4 million, Niger $1.50 million, Ondo $200,000 and Ekiti $51,000.

Meanwhile foreign capital inflow into Nigeria dipped by 26.4% to $3.9 billion in 2023 from $5.3 billion in 2022. The latest data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed that foreign portfolio investment (FPI) in 2023 was $1.15 billion, indicating 29.5 percent of the $3.91 billion total capital importation recorded in the year. On the other hand, foreign direct investment (FDI) stood at $377.4 million, and other investment was $2.38 billion in the year. The report indicated that Lagos State was the top investment destination in the year, attracting 64 percent investment while 8 states recorded zero investment from 2019 to 2023.

On a quarterly basis, the report revealed that in the fourth quarter of 2024 (Q4 2023), total capital importation into Nigeria stood at $1.09 billion, representing 2.62 percent increase, year-on-year (YoY) over the $1,06 billion recorded in Q4 2022. The capital importation in Q4 2023 however indicated a significant rise of 66.27 percent over the $654.65 million recorded in Q3 2023.