The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has been identified as the leading recipient of foreign investment in Nigeria, as detailed in a recent report from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The NBS report, titled ‘Nigeria Capital Importation, Q1 2025’, indicates that the FCT secured $3.04 billion, surpassing Lagos, which attracted $2.54 billion during the same period.
According to Daily Trust, this marks “the first time Lagos will lose its first place as the top destination for foreign investment into the country.”
The report further noted that Lagos was followed by Ogun State with $7.95 million, Oyo with $7.81 million, and Kaduna with $4.06 million in foreign investment.
Overall, the country generated a total capital of $5.64 billion during the quarter, a significant increase from the $3.37 billion recorded in Q1 2024, representing a rise of 67.12 per cent.
When compared to the preceding quarter, Q4 2024, capital importation saw an increase of 10.86 per cent from $5.08 billion.
The breakdown of investments showed that Portfolio Investment led with $5.20 billion, accounting for 92.25 per cent of the total. This was followed by other investments at $311.17 million (5.52 per cent), with Foreign Direct Investment recording the lowest at $126.29 million (2.24 per cent) of total capital importation in Q1 2025.
The report highlights: “The Banking sector recorded the highest inflow with $3.12bn, representing 55.44 percent of total capital imported in Q1 2025, followed by the Financing sector, valued at $2.09bn (37.18 percent), and Production/ Manufacturing sector with $129.92m (2.30 percent).”
It further stated: “Capital Importation during the reference period originated largely from the United Kingdom with $3.68bn, showing 65.26 percent of the total capital imported. This was followed by the Republic of South Africa with $501.29m (8.88 percent) and Mauritius with $394.51m (6.99 percent).”
The NBS report concluded: “Out of the five states that recorded capital importation during the quarter, Abuja (FCT) remained the top destination with $3.04bn, accounting for 54.11 percent of the total capital imported. Lagos State followed with $2.56bn (45.44 percent), and Ogun state with $7.95m (0.14 percent).”
“Others were Oyo and Kaduna States with $7.81m and $4.06 Million respectively. Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria Ltd received the highest capital importation into Nigeria in Q1 2025 with $2.10bn (37.29 percent), followed by Stanbic IBTC Bank PLC with 1.39bn (24.78 percent) and Citibank Nigeria Limited with US$1.05bn (18.66 percent).”
