Nigeria's appeal to investors within the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) appears strikingly limited, according to the latest capital importation data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). In the first nine months of 2025, the nation attracted a total of $16.78 billion in capital, but investors from other ECOWAS countries accounted for a meager $2.16 million. This represents just 0.01% of the total inflows.

The NBS figures reveal that the $2.16 million originated from 11 ECOWAS countries that remain in the regional bloc, including Ghana, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, and Guinea. This data underscores the relatively small scale of intra-West African capital flows into Nigeria, despite its position as the largest economy in the region.

Capital inflows from ECOWAS countries experienced a decline of 8.1% year-on-year, decreasing from $2.35 million in the first nine months of 2024 to $2.16 million in the same period of 2025.

Among the three Sahel countries that have announced their withdrawal from ECOWAS, Burkina Faso contributed $0.05 million, Mali recorded $0.01 million, while Niger posted no inflows. Collectively, these three countries accounted for $0.05 million in 9M 2025. When added to the $2.16 million from the remaining ECOWAS countries, the total regional inflows amount to $2.21 million. This still represents just 0.013% of Nigeria’s total capital importation, which rounds to 0.01%.

A closer look at the quarterly data for 2025 reveals that ECOWAS inflows were heavily concentrated in a single quarter. In the first quarter of 2025, ECOWAS countries contributed $0.04 million, entirely from Benin. The second quarter saw no recorded inflows from the bloc. However, in the third quarter, inflows surged to approximately $2.12 million, largely driven by Ghana’s $1.50 million, alongside smaller contributions from Sierra Leone, Senegal, Guinea, Liberia, Benin and Côte d’Ivoire.

This indicates that roughly 98% of ECOWAS capital inflows in 9M 2025 occurred in the third quarter alone, highlighting the volatility and lack of consistency in regional investment flows. By comparison, Nigeria recorded total capital importation of $5.64 billion in Q1 2025, $5.12 billion in Q2, and $6.01 billion in Q3. Against these quarterly totals, ECOWAS inflows remain statistically insignificant.

The data also indicates that foreign capital brought in by Nigerian-based investors amounted to $14.77 million in 9M 2025, compared to $14.54 million in 9M 2024.

Even considering the recent political realignments involving Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, the data suggests that regional capital engagement was already negligible prior to the escalation of diplomatic tensions.