The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), in its Capital Importation report for Q1, 2025 has revealed that 31 states of Nigeria failed to attract any form of foreign capital Inflow during the period under review.
This was despite collectively spending billions of naira in public funds on local and foreign trips purportedly aimed at driving investment.
The report however listed five states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) as having recorded foreign capital inflows during the review quarter with FCT emerging on the top with $3.05 billion, accounted for 54.11 per cent of the total capital Inflow.
Lagos State followed closely with $2.56 billion or 45.44 per cent, while Ogun State received $7.95 million (0.14 per cent). Other beneficiaries were Oyo State with $7.81 million, Kaduna State with $4.06 million, and Kano, trailing with mere $120,000.
The agency which is yet to publish results for the second quarter, took a cursory review of the budget implementation, reporting that only 26 states have published their financial records for both the first and second quarters of the year.
Benue, Lagos, Delta, and Katsina have so far released only their Q1 reports, while Akwa Ibom, Enugu, Ogun, Rivers, and Plateau are yet to make any financial records public for the period under review.
This is even as an analysis of the fiscal performance of each state, utilising data from the Q1 to Q2 budget performance reports obtained from each state’s website, revealed that 29 state governors spent N79.97 billion on domestic and international travel expenses between January and June 2025.
An analysis of the state-by-state breakdown of travel expenses revealed significant disparities in the amount spent by governors on local and foreign trips, with some states spending more than double the amounts recorded by others within the same period.
Lagos State, Nigeria’s commercial capital, recorded the highest expenditure, with a staggering N6.23 billion spent in the first quarter of 2025 alone. It was closely followed by Osun State, which recorded N6.21 billion, and Kano State, which spent N5.58 billion, placing it as the highest spender in the North.
Also ranking among the top spenders were Taraba State, which spent N5.22 billion, and Bayelsa, which committed N3.78 billion to travel-related expenses. Ekiti (N3.76 billion), Borno (N3.68 billion), and Cross River (N3.68 billion) also maintained high spending profiles, alongside Yobe (N3.70 billion) and Edo (N3.51billion).
In the North-East, Adamawa spent N2.24 billion, while Bauchi recorded N3.66 billion. Gombe spent N1.20 billion, and Yobe committed N3.70 billion. Borno State matched Cross River’s figure with N3.68 billion. From the North-Central, Niger State incurred N2.63 billion in travel costs, while Nasarawa and Benue reported N2.24 billion and N1.13 billion respectively, with Benue’s figure reflecting only Q1 expenditure.
Kogi and Kwara states recorded N1.75 billion and N1.2 billion, respectively. In the South-East, Abia state spent (N1.03 billion), Ebonyi state (N1.45 billion), and Imo state (N928.34 million). Enugu and Anambra states had not published their expenditure reports for the year at the time of this report.
For the South-South region, Bayelsa state led with N3.78 billion, followed by Cross River State (N3.68 billion) and Edo State (N3.51billion). Delta state reported N884.81 million in Q1 alone, while Akwa Ibom and Rivers States had not made any financial disclosures for the period under review. Kebbi and Sokoto in the North-West reported N1.53 billion and N2.59 billion respectively, while Zamfara state recorded N2.77 billion. Jigawa state spent N1.26 billion, Kaduna State (N1.86 billion), Kano State (N5.58 billion), and Katsina State (N548.24 million) in Q1.
In the South-West, Osun and Ekiti states led with N6.21 billion and N3.76 billion respectively. Ondo state spent N1.83 billion, Oyo state (N1.89 billion), and Lagos state N6.23 billion in Q1. Ogun State is yet to publish its financial report. Notably, Delta, Benue, Katsina, and Lagos only published their Q1 records, meaning their actual annual travel expenses may be significantly higher.
A geopolitical analysis of the expenditure revealed that South-West governors were the biggest travellers, accounting for N19.92 billion or 24.9 per cent of the total amount spent, even though only four of the six states in the region had available data.
The North-West states followed closely with N17.58 billion (22 per cent), while the North-East region recorded N13.92 billion (17.4 per cent) in travelling expenses. In the South-South region, state governors collectively spent N11.81 billion, representing 14.8 per cent of the total travel expenditure.
The North-Central 🙏 region governors spent a total of N10.79 billion, accounting for 13.5 per cent of the overall spend. In the South-East, travel expenses stood at N5.94 billion, amounting to 7.4 per cent of the total.
The wide-ranging figures have continued to raise concerns about fiscal discipline and value-for-money in governance, particularly in states battling infrastructure deficits. At different fora, financial experts have also raised concerns about states’ spending on recurrent expenditure, highlighting the need to embrace financial innovations.
Source: Economic Confidential.
