Presidential candidate of the Labour Party, LP, at the 2023 general elections, Peter Obi has reacted to GlaxoSmithKline’s sudden termination of it’s business operations in Nigeria.
Obi made the statement via a tweet on his verified Twitter handle on Friday.
This was as the multinational company disclosed that ‘it no longer perceives a prospect for the country as a business environment that would be anchored on productivity.”
According to reports, GSK said “its half-year sales had dropped to 7.75 billion naira ($9.82 million), from 14.8 billion naira in the same period a year ago.”
Speaking on the development, Mr Peter Obi whose petition at the Presidential Elections Petition Tribunal (PEPT) seeking the annulment of President Tinubu’s victory at the presidential poll is still pending judgement, said:
“Today, I was saddened to hear that GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), is exiting Nigeria after 51 years of operation.
Their reason for leaving Nigeria is even more disheartening; they no longer perceive a prospect for the country as a business environment that would be anchored on productivity. We have painfully come to that point in our nation’s journey where multinationals are leaving the country and the local ones are closing down. These are some of the consequences of the cumulative poor management of our economy.”
The LP candidate further expressed his thoughts with individuals who might be loosing their jobs due to the companys’ exit from the country. He said,
“As a result, millions are losing their jobs and our poverty index is worsening, even though we’re already being perceived as the world’s poverty capital. The multinationals that are leaving our country have not only created jobs but have created immeasurable training that contributed immensely to our human capital development over the years. Now they are leaving our shores one after the other. GSK which has a manufacturing facility in Agbara, Ogun State on over 25 hectares of land had directly employed over 400 highly technical workers like pharmacists, microbiologists, biochemists, chemists, dentists, doctors etc, and also employed over 1000 other staff. It indirectly provided jobs and business opportunities for thousands of Nigerians across the nation. They are now leaving all these behind, and pushing more people back into unemployment. I have consistently maintained that in turning our nation around, we must move the economy from consumption to production, part of which included encouraging and supporting local and foreign investments, like GSK, in the country.
“The creation of an environment that creates and sustains multinationals to invest in our country is key to our dream of greatness. In the new Nigeria that we seek to create, the emphasis on production will encourage investors to stay and expand on our shores,” he said.
Our people will keep their jobs and grow their prosperity. ” Obi added.
Reacting, a parody account of the President, Bola Tinubu identified as “Bola Ahmed Tinubu (Parody) with a blue thick said:
“Something needs to be done asap to redeem this country from unfortunate hands!
“We need people who want to see it work overseeing it and not people who only care about their stomachs and that of their families.”
GlaxoSmithKline, GSK, is a British multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company which brought it’s business operations to Nigeria over two decades ago is known for the manufacturing of products for major disease areas such as asthma, cancer, infections, diabetes, and mental health.
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