THE EFFECT OF INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT ON NIGERIA'S FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT USING DATA-DRIVEN ALGORITHMS.

This study analyzes the effect of infrastructure development on Nigeria’s foreign direct investment (FDI) using data-driven algorithms from 2005 to 2023, utilizing time-series data sourced from the Central Bank of Nigeria Statistical Bulletin and the 2023 United Nations Annual Reports. This study focused on four key variables: Transport Infrastructure Development (TID), Energy Infrastructure Development (EID), Water Infrastructure Development (WID), and ICT Infrastructure Development (ICTD). The analysis employed auto-regressive distributed lag (ARDL) models, revealing that although infrastructure development negatively impacted FDI, the effect was statistically insignificant during the study period. This study recommends that the Nigerian government strengthen security measures and governance, develop targeted incentives to attract infrastructure-driven FDI, address macroeconomic challenges by stabilizing the exchange rate, and adopt an integrated approach to infrastructure development to maximize its effect on FDI.