Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) has lamented that no fewer than 20,000 jobs have been lost on account of the exit of 15 multinational companies from Nigeria – Africa’s largest economy – in the last three years.
The Director-General of NECA, Adewale Oyerinde, disclosed this in a recent interview with journalists.
He warned of the dire consequence of massive job loss across sectors in Nigeria due to harsh business environment.
According to him, the situation, if allowed to continue, would worsen insecurity and increase child labour.
“It is worrisome to note that in the last three years, over 15 organisations with a combined value-chain staff strength of over 20,000 employees have either divested or partially closed operations.
“This has dire consequences not only for organised businesses but also for labour, government revenue and the households,” he noted.
Some of the multinational companies that have left Nigeria include GSK, Sanofi, Procter & Gamble, Nampak, Unilever Nigeria, and Procter & Gamble, among others.
Experts have raised the alarm over the impact of the development on the country’s economy.