Group Claims Nigeria Sitting On $1.5trn Idle Capital

Nigeria is sitting on between $1 trillion and $1.5 trillion in stranded, abandoned and underutilised capital across public and private sectors, the Foundation for Peace Professionals (PeacePro) has said.

The group described the figure as one of the largest pools of dormant economic value in Africa.

PeacePro said research it reviewed indicates that as much as $900 billion may be tied up as dead capital in residential real estate and agricultural land.

It also cited estimates of tens of thousands of abandoned buildings owned by federal, state, and local governments valued at approximately N9.5 trillion.

The executive director of PeacePro, Abdulrazaq Hamsat, further claimed that:” Industry assessments further suggest that more than 56,000 abandoned projects across sectors, including roads, public buildings, and housing estates are collectively valued at N12–17 trillion, in addition to billions of naira invested in abandoned or uncompleted power infrastructure projects.”

Hamzat described the situation as a “silent economic emergency,” arguing that Nigeria’s growth challenges stem less from resource scarcity and more from failure to activate existing assets.

He added that the estimated $1.5 trillion in stranded capital spans key sectors, including energy infrastructure,transportation assets,housing and real estate,

industrial and manufacturing facilities, closed factories and moribund industrial clusters; public infrastructure projects stalled due to funding gaps or policy shifts.”

Hamzat noted that the upper estimate is more than five times Nigeria’s nominal GDP of approximately $285 billion, underscoring the scale of unused economic capacity.

“Nigeria is not a poor country. Nigeria is a poorly activated economy. The issue is not absence of capital, but immobilised capital,” he said.

Hazmat stated that unlocking even 30–40 percent of dormant assets could generate economic output equivalent to multiple years of current GDP, create millions of direct and indirect jobs, reduce borrowing dependence, strengthen local production capacity, improve energy supply and industrial output, and stabilise fragile communities through economic inclusion.