Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission, NIPC, has said Lagos State led the list for investment announcements at $8.7 billion as Nigeria recorded a total of $23.30 billion in investment announcements for the year 2021.
Acting Executive Secretary of NIPC, Mr Emeka Offor at a press briefing in Abuja on Wednesday, disclosed that the investment recorded a 39% increase compared to $26.74 billion in 2020.
Aside from Lagos state recording a tremendous growth by value of investment, the other top four identified by the NIPC are Bayelsa (3.6 billion dollars), Delta (2.9 billion dollars), Akwa Ibom State (two billion dollars), and Adamawa (one billion dollars).
The commission also noted that the manufacturing sector has the highest number of projects (20) as well as the highest value, attracting 10.5 billion dollars, representing 45% of the investments in the country.
While the construction sector accounted for 16%, electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply followed with 13%, information and communication was 12% and mining and quarrying 9%, these were the top five sectors for the year.
In his words, Mr Emeka Offor stated that the commission hope the report from the investment announcements will give them clue about investors’ readiness to invest in Nigeria.
However, the NIPC chief disclosed that their focus is on processing the validation of the investment announcements in order to mobilize the capital projected by National Development Plan.
The work of the NIPC in the next five years has been appropriately defined by the National Development Plan, NDP, 2021–2022, projecting a capital requirement of N348.7 trillion with 86% (N298.3 trillion) of which is expected to be provided by the private sector.
The increment in 2021 indicates the growing confidence in the Nigerian economy, Africa’s largest economy and the most populous black nation.