Peter Obi decries exodus of top international companies, says Nigeria’s  ‘business environment is deteriorating continually’

Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 general election, has described the departure of important foreign corporations from Nigeria as a negative portent for Africa’s most populous nation.

The opposition politician said this in his X handle on Friday while reacting to the departure of three international companies in the health and energy sectors.

He explained that the eventual withdrawal of the multi-billion-dollar industries highlights the state of affairs in our country.

Obi argued that “the reason for their exit being that there was no longer any perceived growth in Nigeria anchored on productivity.”

He said, “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.

“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.

“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 former Anambra State Governor further noted that, “The presence of these iconic companies in any economy is not only that they signify trust and confidence, as well as believe in 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.

He said, “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. The declining purchasing power of 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.

Obi then urged governments at all levels in Nigeria to act immediately to ensure that institutions of governance are put in place and actively engaging to show that the situation is reversed.