PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu said his nine-month-old administration has attracted $30 billion in Direct Foreign Investment commitments to shore up the Nigerian economy.
Tinubu made this known during the 2023 Leadership Annual Conference and Award held on Tuesday, March 6, in Abuja.
The President, who was represented by Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, stated that the Nigerian economy is not in a state of distress as widely speculated but rather faced with challenges.
Acknowledging the various challenging situations, he remarked that the nation has garnered unprecedented opportunities to reshape its trajectory and construct a new, sustainable economy away from the rent-seeking and wasteful practices of the past.
“Since we assumed office in May 2023, we have attracted $30 billion in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) commitments into the real sectors of the economy, including manufacturing, telecoms, healthcare, oil and gas, and others.
“Those investments have already started coming into the country. Just a few days ago, I was in Qatar on an official visit, where the Emir assured that a senior government delegation would visit Nigeria after Ramadan,” the president said.
Tinubu also noted that he has asked the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, to directly interface with the Qatari authorities to ensure speedy progress.
According to him, the Nigerian economy exhibited a performance in the last quarter of 2023 that surpassed expectations, with a growth rate of 3.46 per cent, compared to 2.54 per cent in the preceding quarter.
“Capital Importation into Nigeria was up by 66 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2023, reversing a 36 per cent decline in the previous quarter.
“In January 2024, the Nigerian Stock Exchange All Share Index (ASI) crossed the 100,000 points mark, its highest ever.
“There is no one who looks at this data who will conclude that “distressed” is the accurate way to describe the Nigerian economy,” Tinubu added.
Capital importation is the influx of external resources into the local capital resources for investment, trade, and business production. The NBS divides it into three main investment types: foreign direct investment (FDI), portfolio investment, and other investments, each comprising various sub-categories. Others here refer to currency deposits, loans, trade credits, etc.
The ICIR had previously reported that Nigeria generated capital importation figures of $1.13 billion and $1.03 billion in the first and second quarters of 2023, respectively, while for the third and fourth quarters of the year in question, the country attracted $654.7 million and $1.09 billion, respectively.
Meanwhile, the total capital importation for 2023 is about 26.70 per cent lower than what was generated in 2022, which was $5.33 billion.
The report showed that the lowest capital inflow was generated in Ekiti State, which was $50,000, while Lagos State had the highest inflow, with $2.50 billion.
Usman Mustapha is a solution journalist with International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: umustapha@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M