President Bola Tinubu’s administration has announced more than $50 billion in foreign investment commitments since May 2023, but actual Foreign Direct Investment entering Nigeria has remained at about $2.06 billion.
The commitments, made during presidential outings and diplomacy sessions, comprise oil and gas, manufacturing, agriculture, technology, logistics and infrastructure.
The News Chronicle reports that the disparity between the pledged investments and the realized FDI, however, has raised questions about the efficacy of the Nigerian economy in transforming commitments into projects and fresh capital.
Major commitments comprise ExxonMobil’s $10 billion deepwater expansion, Indorama’s $8 billion petrochemical and fertilizer investment, Jindal Steel’s $3 billion steel project and Shell’s $3 billion oil and gas investment.
However, economists argue that huge investment pledges can, in many cases, take years to bear fruit, as investors take time to finance, obtain regulatory approvals, and conduct risk assessments before disbursing funds.
Data from the National Bureau of Statistics shows that Nigeria attracted about $47.6 billion in foreign capital between May 2023 and the first quarter of 2026, however, FDI comprised a small percentage of the total.
The statistics are an indication that while there is tremendous interest in investing in Nigeria, the conversion of announcements into capital, manpower and productive capacity is what Tinubu administration is set to face the music for.
