A chieftain of the All Progresives Congress in Osun State, Olatunbosun Oyintiloye, has raised the alarm over the recent exit of multinational corporations from Nigeria.
Appealing to President Bola Tinubu, Oyintiloye emphasized the importance of bolstering the economy to retain and attract investments, rather than witnessing an exodus of companies.
Addressing reporters in Osogbo, the Osun State capital, on Sunday, the former state House of Assembly member highlighted the potential repercussions of multinational departures, including diminished foreign investment, extensive job losses, and economic downturn.
Oyintiloye 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.
He underscored the broader impact, noting the oil sector’s vulnerability, with 26 oil companies divesting and selling their shares due to security concerns in the Niger Delta and funding challenges for joint ventures.
While acknowledging Tinubu’s efforts to stabilise the economy, Oyintiloye stressed the urgency of addressing business environment hurdles cited by departing firms.
He urged the government to restore Nigeria as an attractive destination for multinationals and empower local manufacturing industries, proposing flexible foreign exchange policies, tax breaks, and incentives to retain existing investors.
Oyintiloye expressed optimism that with concerted efforts, the government’s economic revitalization initiatives would soon yield positive results for Nigerians.
“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.
