Olatunbosun Oyintiloye, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has urged President Bola Tinubu to address the challenges causing the exit of multinational companies.
Oyintiloye said the continuous exit of multinational companies could affect jobs and foreign exchange (FX) inflows.
He said this on Sunday while speaking with journalists in Osogbo.
According to the APC chieftain, the recent announcement by Kimberly-Clark, the makers of Huggies, to exit Nigeria is a worrisome development.
On May 31, Kimberly-Clark said it plans to stop local manufacturing and sales in Nigeria after 14 years of operation due to economic trends in the country and refocused corporate priorities globally.
Oyintiloye said GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Nigeria Plc, Sanofi-Aventis Nigeria Limited, and Procter and Gamble (P&G), among others, have either fully or partially shut down their operations in Nigeria.
He said in 2023, Unilever halted the production of its well-known OMO, Sunlight, and Lux home and skin care brands to reduce costs and focus on higher growth opportunities.
The former lawmaker warned that the ongoing exit of multinational companies from Nigeria, if not addressed, could lead to a decline in foreign investment inflows, massive job losses, and a reduction in economic output, among other negative effects.
He urged Tinubu to make every effort to improve the economy and attract more investment to the country, rather than allowing existing companies to leave.
Oyintiloye said the exit of these multinational companies affects not only the manufacturing sector but also the oil sector.
He said no fewer than 26 oil companies and investments pulled out and sold their stakes to domestic investors.
“These include influential oil mining multinationals such as Shell, ExxonMobil and ENI,” Oyintiloye said.
“These companies left mainly because of heightened insecurity in the Niger Delta and inability of the government to provide their counterpart funds to enable the joint venture agreements to explore and exploit new oilfields.”
He said the exit of these companies would also affect the value chain and decline in the growth of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).
‘URGENT NEED TO ADDRESS CHALLENGES’
Although the former lawmaker said the president is making every effort to stabilise the economy, there is an urgent need for the government to address the challenges in the business operating environment cited by the companies.
Oyintiloye appealed to the president to restore Nigeria as a haven for multinational industries and to empower indigenous manufacturing industries.
“There is no doubt that the president has been putting measures in place to revamp the economy, increasing foreign direct investment and also making local industries vibrant and competitive,” he said.
“But there is urgent need to address challenges causing the exit of these multinational companies.
“Government should create a more flexible and transparent foreign exchange policy to address scarcity issues, reduce the inflationary trend which has reduced consumers’ demand and purchasing power, create tax breaks, review economic and fiscal policy.
“The government should also look at how to give incentives to some of the multinationals that are still operating in the country.”
Oyintiloye said with the various policies implemented by the president to revamp the economy, Nigerians would soon begin to smile.