NIPC's Executive Secretary/CEO, Ms Yewande Sadiku, disclosed at a media parley in Abuja that NIPC tracked US$8.4 billion in investment announcements in Q1 2021, compared to US$4.81 billion in Q1 2020 — representing a 75% increase. The manufacturing sector was the largest destination, accounting for approximately 35% of total announcements. Domestic investors were the most active, with Morocco as the second-largest source country.
Ms Sadiku acknowledged that Nigeria has a long way to go, noting that investment inflows globally have been declining since 2015, with the sharpest drop in 2020. On account of COVID-19, some recovery is expected in 2021 but is likely to be marginal. She stated: 'The pandemic has caused material disruption in value chains. It demonstrated the danger in concentrating manufacturing capacity in one country or region. From 2019 to 2021, investment contracted by about 50%, with the bulk coming from Europe.'
On what Nigeria needs to reverse the global trend, Ms Sadiku said: 'We need a more collaborative, cohesive, and more coherent effort at attracting investment — we need to ensure that everyone across all tiers of government is working towards the same purpose.' She stressed that investment levels in Nigeria across all sectors remain insufficient for the country's economic development ambitions, and that announcements — while an indicator — translate to between 5% and 11% of actual investment inflows.
The media parley also featured the presentation of NIPC's Q1 2021 Pioneer Status Incentive Report by the Assistant Director, Incentives Administration Division, Uchenna Okonkwo, and NIPC's Q1 2021 Mandatory Disclosures under the Freedom of Information Act, presented by the Head of Corporate Services, Sabo Isiaku, who highlighted NIPC's ongoing commitment to transparency and open governance.
