VANGUARD
No fewer than 28 states have failed to attract foreign investments as the value of capital importation into Nigeria grew by 6.78 percent in the first quarter of 2023.
This development was captured in a report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
According to the NBS, the total capital imported stood at $1.13 billion, up from the $1.06 billion recorded in Q4 2022.
The 28 states that failed to attract foreign investment in Q1 2023 include:
Abia
Bauchi
Bayelsa
Benue
Borno
Cross River
Delta
Ebonyi
Edo
Enugu
Gombe
Imo
Jigawa
Kaduna
Kano
Katsina
Kebbi
Kogi
Kwara
Nasarawa
Osun
Oyo
Plateau
Rivers
Sokoto
Taraba
Yobe
Zamfara
In the quarter under review, Lagos took the lead as it outshined others — and the federal capital territory (FCT) — to top the list of states that attracted the most investments.
Lagos state attracted $704.87 million, representing 62 percent of the total capital inflow into Nigeria.
Recall that Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos state recently assured investors that the state is the right place for investments and “the crown subnational jewel of the African economy.”
He said Lagos was ripe for investments in financial technology, education technology, health technology, business process outsourcing (BPO), talent training and placement, or physical infrastructure like data centres, among others.
According to the NBS report, the FCT emerged as the second top investment destination with $410.27 million — representing 36 percent of the total capital inflow in the country.
Other states that attracted foreign investments in Q1 2023 are Akwa Ibom ($5.21 million), Adamawa ($4.50 million), Anambra ($4 million), and Ogun ($2.09 million).
Niger made the list with $1.50 million, Ondo had $0.20 million, and Ekiti secured $0.01 million.
