‘Where’s the evidence?’ — Adebayo faults claim Tinubu’s foreign trips secured $50bn investment
Adewole Adebayo, presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party in the 2023 election, has challenged claims that President Bola Tinubu’s overseas trips have attracted $50 billion in investments to Nigeria.
Adebayo spoke during an interview on 90MinutesAfrica hosted by Rudolf Okonkwo, where he questioned the credibility and economic impact of the figure repeatedly cited by government officials.
He said the $50 billion claim, though impressive on paper, lacks visible evidence in Nigeria’s economic indicators.
“The statement that President Tinubu’s frequent foreign trips have attracted $50 billion worth of investments into the economy sounds impressive, but the evidence of it is lacking,” he said.
The lawyer argued that even major global economies such as the United States, China, or Saudi Arabia would regard $50 billion as a significant inflow. According to him, if such an amount had entered Nigeria’s economy, it would be reflected in the national budget, corporate financing structures and gross domestic product figures.
Adebayo said he reviewed public and private sector budgets, stock exchange listings, bank recapitalisation programmes and public private partnership financing arrangements, adding that he found nothing to support the claim.
“Nothing close to such money is there,” he said, suggesting that either the funds have yet to materialise or the projections have been overstated.
He accused the administration of exaggeration and urged the government to focus on properly accounting for revenues already being generated within the economy.
Adebayo also alleged that substantial portions of Nigeria’s wealth remain unaccounted for, contributing to what he described as a shrinking economy.
Beyond the investment debate, he criticised what he called growing centralisation of political, administrative, military and economic power under the current administration.
Referring to a past comment by Bola Ige on military era power concentration, Adebayo said the present situation had evolved into a system where influence is consolidated at the top.
He further alleged attempts to extend control across institutions including the media, civil society, religious bodies and the electoral system.
Background
On March 4, 2025, Jumoke Oduwole, minister of industry, trade and investment, said Tinubu’s foreign engagements had yielded $50.8 billion in proposed investments.
Speaking at a ministerial press briefing in Abuja, Oduwole said the commitments were recorded from 30 international trips undertaken by the president as of December 2024.
She cited a 2025 visit to Brazil on the sidelines of the G20, where global meat producers reportedly announced plans to invest $2.5 billion in Nigeria.
According to the minister, Nigeria requires about $50 billion in foreign exchange inflows to stabilise its economy, adding that the government’s priority is to ensure the proposed investments are actualised.
Following criticisms from opposition figures, Nentawe Yilwatda, national chairman of the All Progressives Congress, reiterated the minister’s position in a statement issued on February 3 by his media aide.
He described the president’s foreign trips as strategic and economically motivated rather than ceremonial.
