The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has said policy inconsistencies and rising insecurity in Nigeria are two of the major factors driving away investors.
The Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC) had revealed recently that foreign and local investors pledged to invest a total of $203.9bn in the Nigerian economy between January 2017 and December 2020, but only $7.8bn or 3.8 per cent of total commitment was fulfilled.
The Director-General, LCCI, Dr Chinyere Almona, in an emailed response to questions from a national newspaper (not The Tide) noted that investment announcements were indications of interest to do business or invest in the country.
According to her, a process for announcements to translate into real investments is still required.
“Some investors make pledges or applications to establish businesses or invest in Nigeria and later renege on their applications for reasons that may not be far from policy somersault, worsening insecurity between the time of announcement and real investment, and the cumbersome registration and regulatory procedures”, Almona said.
She advised that the federal and state governments take urgent steps at addressing the issues that had made the Nigerian economy too risky for investors to have confidence in.
She said, “The insecurity situation, rising inflation, unfriendly regulatory environment, worsening corruption perception, and weak infrastructural base are critical factors turning investors away from Nigeria. 
These issues need to be dealt with and a conducive business environment created by the government to attract foreign investors. There is a need for more legal and regulatory frameworks like the recently approved Petroleum Industry Act for the oil and gas industry”.
According to the LCCI boss, international standard regulations are critical ingredients for a sound business environment where investors are confident of contract enforcements, ease of registration and documentation, and maximum investor protection.