Citizenship News
The National Bureau of Statistics’ (NBS) Capital Importation report for Q1 2026 showed that total capital inflows into Nigeria rose to US$10,372 million, an increase of 83.83% from the US$5,642 million recorded in Q1 2025 and a 60.97% increase from the US$6,443 million recorded in Q4 2025.
Portfolio investment dominated inflows at $9,862 million (95.09%), followed by other investment at $374.48 million (3.61%), while foreign direct investment recorded the lowest at $135.08 million, just 1.30% of the total.
By sector, banking attracted the largest share with $7,550 million (72.79%), followed by financing with $2,429 million (23.42%) and production/manufacturing with $152.27 million (1.47%).
The bulk of the capital originated from the United Kingdom ($5,083 million, 49.01%), the United States ($3,183 million, 30.69%), and South Africa ($983.83 million, 9.49%).
This increase can be largely attributed to improved investor confidence, following attractive yields on Nigerian money market instruments that draw short-term portfolio capital.
However, this concentration in portfolio investment creates a vulnerability: such inflows are highly sensitive to interest-rate movements and can reverse rapidly during periods of global uncertainty.
The negligible share of foreign direct investment highlights Nigeria’s continued struggle to attract long-term, productive capital that supports job creation and industrial growth.
To mitigate this risk, policymakers should prioritise reforms that improve the ease of doing business and address infrastructure and security challenges, while deepening domestic capital markets to convert volatile inflows into durable financing for real-sector investment.
