The Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association has advocated for proactive measures to mitigate the impact of the multifaceted challenges that businesses are currently facing, which is leading to the exit of multinational companies.
The Punch reported that NECA applauded the Federal Government for providing the N125 billion Presidential Palliative Program as a means of aiding manufacturers and small and medium-sized businesses.
The statement read as follows: “This strategic intervention is a proactive step in mitigating the impact of the multifaceted challenges that businesses are currently facing.”
NECA stressed in a statement the urgent need for swift action to stop the trend of businesses leaving the nation.
“While we commend the Federal Government for the disbursement of the intervention funds, we urge a quick and definitive action to arrest the continuous exit and divestment of legitimate organizations in Nigeria,” said the Director-General of NECA, Adewale-Smatt Oyerinde, during a speech on Thursday in Lagos.
“Strong local and international brands that were previously well-known have either closed their doors or divested entirely or in part in recent years. The Federal Government’s efforts to draw in Foreign Direct Investment will be consistently undermined by these regrettable departures, making its initiatives ineffective.”
Outlining the likely causes of these closures, the NECA Boss claimed that the difficult business environment, which is characterized by strict legislative and regulatory actions, inadequate infrastructure, and inconsistent policies, all combine to make things worse for businesses.
“Leaders, under the guise of oversight functions, consistently create impediments for organised businesses, hindering their operations,” stated Oyerinde. “Regulatory bodies tasked with fostering business growth persist in prioritizing revenue generation at the expense of their core mandate.”
He continued by saying that the President’s attempts to draw in foreign direct investment are undermined by the paradoxes and self-disruptive impulses of many federal and state institutions, which are only imagined.
Oyerinde fervently pleaded with the President, the Finance Minister, and the Coordinating Minister of the Economy to put local company survival ahead of aggressively pursuing Foreign Direct Investment.
