- ‘Africa’s business interest steadily growing’
- •NGF unveils Investopedia
Despite the huge potential and intensified efforts at wooing investors, the inflow of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is low, governors lamented yesterday.
Chairman of Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), AbdulRahaman AbdulRazaq, said that while Nigeria is Africa’s largest economy, endowed with abundant human and natural resources, its FDI inflows in the last decade have averaged only USD 2 billion annually, which is less than 0.5 per cent of GDP.
He spoke in Abuja at the unveiling of NGF’s Investopedia – a compendium of investment opportunities in the 36 states.
The Kwara State Governor was represented by his Nasarawa State counterpart, Abdullahi Sule.
The governors drew attention to untapped investment opportunities across the states.
They urged potential investors to unlock them for the nation’s prosperity.
According to them, the sub-national units are open, credible and ready to support investment prospecting beyond oil and gas and telecommunications sectors.
Noting that the vast investment potentials at the sub-national level have been underexplored before now, he said it was time to reverse the trend.
The NGF chair pointed out that the few foreign investments attracted are mostly concentrated in oil and gas, telecommunications, real estate, and agriculture.
He said that although these investments are important, the FDIs have not reached the depth or breadth required to catalyse true sub-national transformation.
Conversely, Abdulrazaq added: “At the same time, African Direct Investment (ADI) into Nigeria has been steadily growing, with regional investors from South Africa, Morocco, Egypt, and Ghana expanding into sectors such as banking, fintech, agribusiness, and infrastructure.
“This intra-African capital is particularly important under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), as it signals a growing confidence among African partners in Nigeria’s markets and opportunities.
“Yet, despite these inflows, the annual infrastructure financing gap for Nigeria is estimated at USD 100 billion — a gap that states bear the heaviest responsibility to bridge. Public budgets alone cannot solve this.
“To unlock prosperity, we must mobilise both global and African capital to finance projects that create jobs, modernise infrastructure, and drive inclusive growth.
“This is the purpose of the NGF Investopedia: to serve as a one-stop shop for investors, providing credible, transparent, and curated pipelines of projects across all 36 states.
“It is not just a catalogue – it is an entry point, showing investors not only where to invest, but also how to invest in Nigeria with confidence.
“This vision would not be possible without the partnership of our sponsors and allies: Afreximbank, which will deploy innovative financial instruments to move state projects from pipeline to bankability and financial closure.”
He continued: “The UNDP will support our states in building the institutional capacity needed to sustain credible investment pipelines.
“The Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI) will pool post-launch resources to reinforce investor confidence and unlock blended finance opportunities.
“Together, these partnerships ensure that Investopedia is not just a publication, but a living platform that will drive investment into our states in the years ahead.
“Our vision is clear: to position Nigeria’s states as credible, competitive destinations for capital, and to unlock prosperity for millions of our people.
“When an investor builds a road, funds an agro-processing facility, finances renewable energy, or supports ICT infrastructure, the benefits extend beyond financial returns — they create jobs, improve livelihoods, and drive sustainable development.
“To our distinguished investors, both here in Nigeria, across Africa, and globally, I extend this invitation: partner with Nigeria’s states.
“The opportunities are vast, the commitment is firm, and the time is now.
“With the NGF Investopedia, backed by strong partnerships and the NGF Fund, we are sending a clear signal: Nigeria’s subnationals are open, credible, and investment-ready.
“Together, we can bridge the infrastructure gap and unlock a new era of prosperity for our people.”
Before reading the NGF Chair’s speech, Sule drew attention to the investment opportunities in oil and gas, mining and the agriculture sectors in the country.
He said: “In Nigeria, the prospects are enormous. The prospects are not only in oil and gas, but also in agriculture and mining.
“This opportunity has opened up something for us, as Nigerians, to be able to start somewhere.”
Recalling his experience as a worker in an oil and gas company in the United States, the Nasarawa governor said the sector in Nigeria, particularly the offshore, was still very much underexplored.
He added: “If you look at the Benue, Calabar, going to Gombe, through Nasarawa, Plateau, all the way to Lake Chad Basin, the opportunities there are not even yet explored at all.
“The Anambra Basin is unexplored. If you look at the Benin Basin, it is there. All of them are still underexplored.
“If Nigeria explores all these areas, we will have another Saudi Arabia. The reason is that most of these big fields in Nigeria – the Obonga, the Agbani – are all in the deep water. So, nothing is being explored in the deep ocean.
“But today, there are some discoveries – in Gombe, for instance, the NNPC has already drilled five wells approximately; in Nasarawa, they drilled one, in Lake Chad, they drilled two.”
Sule advised potential investors in oil and gas to look in those directions.
He also said that every state has potential for mining, which should be tapped.
Citing Nasarawa as an example, Sule added: “What we did in Nasarawa State was to come up with what we called an Executive Order to say that anybody who is mining in Nasarawa must also process in Nasarawa State.
“By doing that, Nasarawa State is now home to the biggest lithium processing plant in Nigeria, and we are waiting for Mr. President to return and commission the next lithium processing plant, which will be, indeed, the biggest in Africa with 6000 tons per day.”
The governor also spoke on the investment opportunities in the agriculture sector across the country.
He said: “There is no better time than now. The reform agenda of Mr. President, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, for which we are not giving him enough credit, has made more resources available in the hands of the Federal Government, the states and the local governments.
“And, for us in Nasarawa, we used the resources available to go into PPP. And so, we are not just looking for investors; we are looking for partners so that we can also invest.”
The NGF Director-General, Abdulateef Shittu, explained that Investopedia will simplify investor access by consolidating credible projects into one gateway.
He said it will also provide confidence through due diligence and transparent presentation of opportunities.
Shittu said the initiative would also mobilise partnerships that go beyond financing to include technical support, capacity-building, and risk mitigation.
He added: “This is why today matters. We are no longer just discussing potential, but presenting bankable pathways for global, African, and domestic capital to flow into our states.
“The prosperity that will follow — in jobs, infrastructure, and inclusive growth – will stand as a legacy for this generation of governors and leaders.”