Michael Babatunde
Claim
The Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun claimed that his administration has attracted $1billion investments into the state.
Verdict
The claim is FALSE the state only attracted $30.5m investment in 4 years.
Full Text
Abiodun had on Friday 14th October 2022 inaugurated the Ogun State Investment and Facilitation Agency (OGUNINVEST). He claimed OGUNINVEST has 36 investment portfolios worth over $1billion attracted into the State by his administration.
“We have continued to reap bountiful harvest from our commitment as existing investments are thriving and new investments are being attracted. As of today, we’ve been able to attract 36 new investments into Ogun State worth over a billion United States dollars and generated an estimated of over 40,000 jobs since inception of Oguninvest,” he said.
In the build up to the 2023 elections, the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) said Abiodun had in the last three years attracted more than 36 investment portfolios worth over $1 billion to the state.
The group added no evidence to back their claim. They linked the investment to Abiodun’s Award for Industrial Revolution from President Muhammadu Buhari in 2022.
Verification
The National Bureau of Statistics in the ‘Nigeria’s Capital Importation’ for the first, second, third, and fourth quarters of 2022, Ogun State alongside twenty six others were shunned by foreign investors in 2022.
The report showed that foreign investments in the country fell by 20.47 per cent ($1.37bn) from $6.7bn in 2021 to $5.33bn in 2022. Nigeria’s capital importation plunged to $1.06bn in Q4 2022 — down by 8.53%.
According to NBS, only five out of the 36 states and the federal capital territory (FCT), attracted capital investments in Q4 2022.
While Lagos recorded $600 million accounting for 56.63 percent of the total capital inflow, FCT had $424.50 million, Akwa Ibom had $31.47 million, Anambra had $4 million and Ondo $0.20 million for the fourth quarter.
For 2022, report cumulatively showed that only Lagos and Abuja had investments of $billion at 3.61 and 1.63 respectively while others were in millions. Ogun had no investment in 2022 according to NBS.
Another data made available by Statisense, a reliable Data Tech Company with expertise in Analysis, Infographics, Training showed that Ogun attracted only $30.5m investment in 4 years (2019-2022).
Though the state in 2022 claimed to have signed an MOU worth $400million, statistics showed that the state only had $30.5m investments in four years.
Meanwhile, a civic organization, Paradigm Leadership Support Initiative (PLSI) has ranked Ogun State 28th with a score of 18% on the assessment of the level of transparency and accountability operational in the management of public funds and implementation of public policies in the State.
Conclusion
FactcheckElections can conclude that the claim that Dapo Abiodun has attracted $1billion investment to Ogun State is FALSE.