ABSTRACT
Attempts at attracting foreign direct investment in Nigeria have been based on the need to
maximise the potential benefits derived from them, and to minimise the negative effects their
operations could impose on the country. To this effect, the federal government of Nigeria has
over the years, been employing different incentive measures, both fiscal and monetary, for
the purposes of attracting investors to develop the economy.
How successful have these
incentives been?In this study, impact of incentive measures on the flow of foreign private
investments: the study of Nigeria’s tax incentive policy measures (1995 – 2005) the
researcher set out achieve four objectives to assess the Nigerian tax environment; to examine
the incentive regimes of the federal government of Nigeria; to study the trend of foreign
private investment in the country, with the objective of ascertaining its economic impact; and
finally, to appraise the effect of the various incentives on foreign private investment in
Nigeria. The research found that there are several built-in incentives to attract foreign private
investments into Nigeria; that the manufacturing and agricultural sectors were more favoured
in the incentive measures; that the incentive measures were able to boost the inflow of
foreign direct investments; that this increased inflow however, could not translate to visible
improved living standards, nor reduce inflation and the unemployment status of the nation
