The 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has expressed concern over Nigeria’s dwindling Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), blaming it on poor leadership, weak governance, and uncoordinated reforms.
In a statement on Friday, Obi criticised the Federal Government’s frequent overseas trips in search of investment, describing them as “global galivanting” that fails to address the root causes of investor apathy.
He noted that Nigeria’s poor performance in key governance indicators, such as the rule of law, regulatory quality, government effectiveness, and voice and accountability, undermines the country’s attractiveness to sustainable foreign capital.
Citing data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Obi revealed that FDI fell by about 70% in the first quarter of 2025, dropping to $126.29 million from $421.8 million recorded in the fourth quarter of 2024.
He added that of the total $5.64 billion capital imported in Q1 2025, FDI made up just 2.24%, down from 8.2% in the previous quarter.
“Disturbingly, about 90% of the imported capital went into speculative money market instruments, which have little to no impact on industrial growth or job creation. This ‘hot money’ can leave the economy just as quickly as it came in,” he warned.
Obi further pointed out that investment in the manufacturing sector declined by 32.1%, falling to $129.92 million in Q1 2025 from $191.92 million in the same period of 2023—an indicator of declining investor trust in the government’s economic direction.
While global FDI to Africa rose by 75% to $97 billion in 2024, Nigeria attracted only $1.08 billion—about 1% of the continent’s total and a 42% drop from 2023.
In contrast, Egypt led the continent with $46.58 billion, followed by Ethiopia, Côte d’Ivoire, Mozambique, Uganda, DR Congo, South Africa, Namibia, Senegal, Guinea, and Morocco.
“After a 42% drop in FDI between 2023 and 2024, Nigeria has now suffered another 75% decline between Q4 2024 and Q1 2025.
We cannot achieve sustainable growth and development with ineffective leadership and weak governance,” Obi stressed.