Reps To FG: Take Urgent Steps To Halt Multinationals Leaving Nigeria

The House of Representatives has asked the federal government to take urgent steps to address the challenges in the nation’s manufacturing sector that has led to the exit of some multinational companies from the country.

In a resolution following a motion on notice by Patrick Umoh (APC, Akwa Ibom), the House asked the government to collaborate with the private sector to develop policies that will stimulate economic growth and create job opportunities in the country.

The House also said that the government should prioritize investments in the infrastructure and power sectors; provide tax incentives to encourage businesses and investors to invest in Nigeria.

Leading the debate on his motion, Umoh said over the past seven years, several manufacturing companies, particularly three in the fast-moving goods industry, have either left Nigeria or stopped production due to business challenges.

He said companies such as Surest Foam Limited, Mufex, Framan Industries, MZM Continental, Nipol Industries, Moak (ndustries, Stone industries, Procter and Gamble, SanofiAventis, and Equinor have exited the country, with French pharmaceutical producer, Sanofi planing to exit Nigeria, while Bolt Food discontinues food delivery due to economic challenges, Jubilee Syringe Manufacturing also declares temporary redundancy due to unforeseen business issues.

He explained that in 2006, Michelin and Dunlop, tire manufacturing companies, relocated from Nigeria to Ghana due to lack of electricity supply and insecurity, recently, Unilever and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) have announced plans to cease production of iconic products in Nigeria after 51 years and have appointed third-party distributors to sell prescription medicines and vaccines in the country.

He said a report by Cardinal Stone, a financial solutions firm which states that the FastMoving Consumer Goods subsector may exit the country this year if the operating environment does not improve.

The lawmaker said a quarterly report of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) that showed a 33% decrease in investments to 1.03 billion, Dollars in the second quarter of 2023 from 1.54 billion, Dollars in the same period in 2022, and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development reported that Nigeria experienced a negative (-187 million) foreign direct investment inflow last year for the first time in 33 years.

He expressed concerned that the continuous departure of Multinational Companies could significantly impact the country’s GDP, hinder economic growth potential, and job losses, increased poverty, decrease government revenue and investor confidence in the Nigerian market;

Umoh alleged that Multinational Companies are exiting or closing operations in Nigeria due to economic uncertainties, challenging business environments, lack of electricity, constant naira devaluation, high taxes, insecurity, poor infrastructure, port congestion, and _ stringent government policies.