The Labour Party presidential candidate in the 2023 elections, Peter Obi, has advanced reasons why foreign businesses were shutting down operations in Nigeria, linking the development to what he called a negative medium to long-term prospects strategy, unattractive investment profile and a continuous deteriorating business environment, among other indices.

This is as he urged government at all levels in Nigeria to take immediate steps towards reversing the trend and keeping strategic international investors.

He stated this while reacting to the reported exit of Procter & Gamble (P&G), a multinational consumer goods company in Nigeria.

LEADERSHIP reports that P&G had announced a limited market portfolio restructuring that includes pulling out of Nigerian and Argentinian markets.

Reacting to the report in a series of posts on social media on Thursday, the former Anambra State governor highlighted reasons why Nigeria scares away multinational companies, explaining that with the purchasing power of most Nigerians nose-diving everyday, absence of the rule of law and lack of a conducive business environment, it will be difficult to retain such “iconic companies” and talk more of attracting new ones.

Obi wrote: “A few months ago, I lamented the exit of one of the top global Pharmaceutical giants, 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 was that there was no longer a perceived growth in Nigeria anchored on productivity. Today, Procter & Gamble (P&G), the world’s largest personnel care and household products company, makers of iconic brands like Pampers, Gillette, etc, is again leaving Nigeria, for the same reason GSK left.

“[b]Following this also are French pharmaceutical company Sanofi-Aventis, and top Energy firm, Norwegian behemoth Equinor which has sold off its Nigerian business development associates 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. The presence of these iconic companies in any economy is not only that they signify trust and confidence, as well as belief in the medium to long-term socio-economic prospects of such countries, but they massively create jobs, invest in Research and Development, as well as pieces of training which smaller players in the industry learn from and adapt. They help, to a great extent to develop local talents for both local and global jobs. The exit of these top global companies 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.[/b]

“The purchasing power of most Nigerians is nose-diving every day. In the face of the absence of the rule of law, and a conducive business environment, it will be difficult to retain such iconic companies and talk more about attracting new ones.”

He, therefore, urged the government to take immediate steps to ensure that institutions of governance are put in place and actively engaging to show that the situation is reversed.

He added that, “National greatness and development cannot be pursued in an atmosphere that is scaring away strategic international investors.”

KingKO22:
Ok

TimeMachine2:
Coming from the most useless politician in Nigeria of all time. Peter Gringory Obi aka the Pandora thief should be quiet.

Ogene001:
Owamberians will finish the country patapata

TimeMachine2:
Coming from the most useless politician in Nigeria of all time. Peter Gringory Obi aka the Pandora thief should be quiet.

femisplash:
.

CandidAdmin:
Can you all please attack the message and not the messenger?

Never4getU:


Ur linage almost sold it off during Jonathan regime have you forgotten? Your igbo brothers flooded Nigeria with fake products as they were been given waivers to import all importable including taking jobs meant for Nigerians to china for mass production at a cheaper price while the rest of Nigerians go hungry.

Ur wailing is just beginning

TimeMachine2:
Imagine this foolish bigot that will never see anything wrong with the carnage going on in his home state, talking nonsense.

While you are at it, why don't you tell us why you are living in lagos after developing anambra? The legendary 'Go and verify' nematode has become a gossip blogger dishing outs fake aba made statistics on per second basis.

raskymonojendor:

Never4getU:


Ur linage almost sold it off during Jonathan regime have you forgotten? Your igbo brothers flooded Nigeria with fake products as they were been given waivers to import all importable including taking jobs meant for Nigerians to china for mass production at a cheaper price while the rest of Nigerians go hungry.

Ur wailing is just beginning

Kalu Aja, a certified finance coach, said on X that if this reality continues, there will be no Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) left in Nigeria.

“As I keep saying, imports into Nigeria are cheaper. The economic implications are worse than an atomic bomb.”

Many pharmaceutical firms have complained that they are increasingly unable to compete fairly in the Nigerian market due to the importation of fake and substandard drugs, which are pricing them out of the market. If they close down and leave Nigeria, thousands of jobs will be lost.

Kossyso:

Talk trash about PO till eternity, it doesn't affect him in any way and it won't stop him from sharing his opinion about issues bedeviling the nation.

opamoses1:



Those importers are destroying the economy with their cheap commodies from China. P&G and Glaxo are also moving to an import based model to faily compete. I guess they will also import their products maybe from their India factories to be sold in Nigeria.

The government should have increased taxation on those importing all sorts into Nigeria.

femisplash:

Are you not ashamed that that Agulu fraud is one of the biggest importers of consumer goods for over 3 decades without no single manufacturing factory. Since working with Abacha as NPA's boss, he has been benefiting from the corrupt system to enrich his business, till today, that fraud has a chain of political networks that enable him shortchange the system for cheaper dollar rate for importation and waiver benefits. End of the day, he set up NEXT in PH and Abuja and nothing in Anambra, he has an headquarter in Lagos.

Kossyso:

Ashamed of him being into importation business or what? Has the country stopped importing fuel? I really don't get you.

femisplash:

Not only do they destroy pharma products, they also do destroy indigenous fabric business for us, they import fake indigenous prints from China and flood the markets at cheaper rates.