Twenty-seven (27) states were snubbed by Foreign investors with the value of capital importation into Nigeria falling by 34 percent to $2.82 billion in the first nine months of 2023, from $4.27 billion in the same period in 2022.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) made this disclosure in its latest capital importation report for the third quarter (Q3) of 2023 released on Friday.
Capital importation is about bringing in capital from abroad to fuel investment, trade, and manufacturing within a country.
Nigeria’s capital imports for the first nine months of 2023, comprising Q1 – Q3 totalled $2.82 billion, with $1.13 billion imported in Q1, $1.03 billion in Q2 and $654.65m in Q3 2023.
The number of states that did not record investments dropped from 28 in the first half of 2023 to 27 in the first nine months after Abia attracted a remarkable $150.09 million in Q3 – the only state to witness such a dramatic turn-around within three months.
The NBS report revealed further that the 27 states that failed to attract foreign investment in the first nine months of 2023 include, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Benue Borno, Cross River, Delta, Ebonyi, and Edo.
Others are, Enugu, Gombe, Imo, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Kogi, Kwara, Nasarawa, and Osun.
Listed also are, Oyo, Plateau, Rivers, Sokoto, Taraba, Yobe, and Zamfara.
In the review period, Lagos took the lead, outshining others; including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), to top the list of states that attracted the most investments.
The country’s major commercial city attracted $1.79 billion, representing 64 percent of the total capital inflow into Nigeria.
Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Lagos State governor, in April, assured investors that the state was 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
The NBS report showed that FCT emerged as the second top investment destination with $799.21 million — representing 28 percent of the total capital inflow in the country in the first nine months of the year.
Other states that attracted foreign investments in the nine months are Abia ($150.09 million), Akwa Ibom ($39.13 million), Ogun (27.09), and Adamawa ($4.5 million).
Anambra attracted $4 million, Niger $1.50 million, $200,000 and Ekiti $38,250.
