32 states in Nigeria record zero foreign investments in 2024

This is a according to the latest Capital Importation data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) for the third quarter of 2024.

According to the data, Nigeria attracted $1.2 billion in the third quarter of 2024 compared to $2.6 billion and $3.3 billion in the second and first quarter of the year respectively.

Total capital importation in the first 9 months of the year totals $7.1 billion compared to $3.9 billion in the whole of 2023.

The significant year-on-year rise in Nigeria’s total capital importation, from $3.9 billion in 2023 to $7.1 billion in 2024, masks the uneven distribution, suggesting that overall growth has failed to translate into widespread economic benefits across states.

The NBS data shows that only Lagos, Ekiti, Enugu, Kaduna and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) recorded capital importation so far this year.

Meanwhile states like Bayelsa, Ebonyi, Gombe, Jigawa, Kebbi, Taraba, Yobe, Zamfara are yet to attract any capital.

The concentration of capital inflows in a handful of states highlights systemic inefficiencies in Nigeria’s investment landscape.

Nigeria’s total Capital Importation for the third quarter (Q3) of 2024 witnessed a 51.90% decline from the previous quarter, falling to $1.25 billion.

This drop, compared to the $2.60 billion recorded in Q2 2024, highlights a sharp contraction in foreign investments despite an overall annual increase of 91.35% from Q3 2023.

The latest Capital Importation report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reveals that while Nigeria’s capital importation showed substantial growth year-on-year, there was a notable retreat in inflows compared to the preceding quarter.