Companies’ exit will hinder FG’s effort to attract foreign investments – NECA

The continuing exit of legitimate organisations like P&G, GSK, and others from Nigeria will undermine the Federal Government’s efforts to attract foreign direct investment, the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA), has said.

“A quick and definitive action to arrest the continuous exit and divestment of legitimate organisations in Nigeria is needed. In the last few years, hitherto strong brands like GSK, Nampak, and now P&G and some other local brands have either closed shop or divested fully or partially,” said Adewale-Smatt Oyerinde, director-general of NECA.

Highlighting the probable factors behind these business closures, the NECA boss asserted that “The challenging business landscape, marked by stringent regulatory and legislative activities, insufficient infrastructure, and policy inconsistencies, all conspired to exacerbate the difficulties faced by businesses.

“When established global brands like P&G cannot survive the environmental and regulatory onslaught, it is worrisome how many more businesses will capitulate. Regulatory bodies tasked with fostering business growth persist in prioritizing revenue generation at the expense of their core mandate, while legislators, in the guise of oversight functions, consistently create impediments for organized businesses, hindering their operations. The contradictions and self-disruptive tendencies of many federal and state Institutions can only be imagined, as they negate the efforts of the President to attract foreign direct investment,” he said.

According implored President Bola Tinubu, as well as Wale Edun, the minister for finance and the coordinating minister of the economy, to prioritise the survival of local businesses as the primary step before actively seeking foreign direct investment.

He stressed the importance of channeling the 2024 Appropriation Bill to address crucial infrastructural requirements to create a conducive environment for business expansion and laying the groundwork for a prosperous nation.
Additionally, he underscored the necessity of focusing on comprehensive tax reforms and addressing the challenges related to forex and exchange rates with a sense of urgency.