Nigeria’s economy may experience significant boost if the business environment is made conducive for multinational corporations. Olatunbosun Oyintiloye, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress in Osun stated this in an address to journalists on Sunday.
Oyintiloye, who is also a former state House of Assembly member, lamented the successive exit of multinational corporations from Nigeria in recent time, while appealing to the nation’s president, Bola Ahmed Tinubu to address whatever it is that is pushing them away and put an end to the potential economic crisis that may befall the nation if the status quo persists.
According to the party chieftain, bolstering the economy to retain and attract investments, rather than witnessing an exodus of multinational companies was a necessity for the country’s business environment to thrive especially in the midst of a dwindling economy and consistent depreciation of the naira.
Oyintiloye highlighted the potential repercussions of multinational departures to include diminished foreign investment, extensive job losses and economic downturn. He further cited notable exits like Kimberly-Clark, the makers of Huggies, alongside GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Nigeria Plc and others, which have either fully or partially ceased operations for reasons that may not be publicly known.
He recalled that 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.
Also, the former lawmaker recalled that 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.
He emphasised the wider effects and mentioned the fragility of the oil industry, pointing out that 26 oil corporations had sold their interests and divested because of worries about security in the Niger Delta and difficulties getting funding for joint ventures.
Although the former House of Assembly member acknowledged Tinubu’s efforts to stabilise the economy, he emphasized the urgency of addressing business environment hurdles cited by departing firms and urged the government to restore Nigeria as an attractive destination for multinationals.
He also emphasized on the empowerment of local manufacturing industries, proposing flexible foreign exchange policies, tax breaks and incentives as a gateway to retainiing existing investors while expressing optimism that with sustained efforts, the government’s economic revitalization initiatives would soon yield positive results for Nigerians.
He said, “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.
He added that there is the urgent need to address challenges causing the exit of the multinationals.
“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”, he said.
Oyintiloye, however, said that with the various policies put in place by the president to revamp the economy, Nigerians would soon begin to smile.
