Thirty Nigerian states spent a combined ₦11.75 billion on international trips and training in the first quarter of 2025 with no foreign direct investment (FDI) to show for it.
According to the Capital Importation report published by the National Bureau of Statistics, (NBS) on Tuesday, all of the FDI that came into the country between January and March went to only seven locations: the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Kaduna, Kano and Ekiti.
The Foundation for Investigative Journalism, (FIJ), report analysed the first quarter financials of the states as documented in their respective budget performance reports. The travel expenses, when converted using the official exchange rate of ₦1,532.65 to a dollar, amounted to about $7.66 million.
Osun State led the others for money spent on international travel in the first quarter of the year, with a total of N1.88 billion. Yobe followed with ₦1.53 billion and Bauchi recorded N977 million. Taraba and Adamawa also reported high figures. They spent ₦895 million and N894 million respectively.
Benue spent ₦710 million, Jigawa spent ₦577 million and Ebonyi recorded ₦414 million. Others like Delta, Edo and Bayelsa posted ₦214 million, ₦349 million, and ₦307 million respectively.
Even states with smaller expenditures — such as Gombe (₦91 million), Imo (₦15 million) and Katsina (₦49 million) — received no foreign investment in return.
In total, 30 states accounted for nearly ₦12 billion in travel costs without results to show in terms of capital inflow. In contrast, the FCT alone secured $3.05 billion in FDI. Lagos State received $2.56 billion, while Ogun and Oyo attracted $7.95 million and $7.81 million respectively.
Kaduna received $4.06 million, Kano got $117,000 and Ekiti secured the lowest among them with $4,250.
In the past, factors like insecurity, policy weakness and infrastructure deficits have been identified to discourage investment at the subnational level.
In 2025, insecurity in states remains a major barrier between these regions and foreign direct investment. Over 2,200 people were killed, and nearly 900 abducted in the first half of 2025 alone, with deadly attacks in Plateau, Sokoto and Zamfara making several regions high-risk areas for business.
