The presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the February 2023 General Election, Peter Obi, has decried the exit of international firms from Nigeria as a bad omen.
Obi said the departure of three global firms in the health and energy sectors says a lot about the state of affairs in the country.
"A few months ago, I lamented about the exit of the international Pharmaceutical giant, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) from Nigeria. GSK remains a top global pharmaceutical manufacturer and has had 51 years of operations in Nigeria, the reason for their exit being that there was no longer any perceived growth in Nigeria anchored on productivity," he said in a statement released by his spokesperson, Michael Jude Nwolisa.
"Today, Procter & Gamble (P&G), the world's largest personnel care and household products company, makers of iconic brands like Pampers, Gillette, etc, are again leaving Nigeria, for the same reason GSK left. Following this are FMCG and top Energy firm, Norwegian behemoth Equinor which has sold off its Nigerian business.
"Fifteen years ago, P&G, as they are commonly called, viewed Nigeria as a strategic country of importance and invested millions of dollars in an ultra-modern chain supply structure in Agbara which, sadly, is now up for sale."
Peter Obi noted that the presence of the multinationals in any economy signifies trust and confidence, as well as belief in medium to long-term socio-economic prospects of the country.
He added that such companies "massively create jobs, invest in research and development" and carry out trainings which smaller players learn from.
According to him, they complained of help, to a great extent, to develop local talents for both local and global jobs.
"The exit of these top global companies basically shows that our medium to long-term prospects strategy is in the negative, our investment profile is not attractive and our business environment is deteriorating continually," Obi said.
"The declining purchasing power of Nigerians is nose-diving every day."
Obi pointed to the "absence of the rule of law, and a conducive business environment" as factors that make it difficult to retain the companies that are leaving, adding that the same factors would make it tougher to attract new international companies.
He finally charged governments at all levels in Nigeria to ensure that institutions of governance are put in place and actively engaged to show that the current situation is reversed.
