Nigeria’s Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Otumba Niyi Adebayo, has revealed how some African countries were lobbying multinational companies registered and operating in Nigeria to relocate to such countries.
The Minister revealed this on Thursday when he appeared before the House of Representatives Committee on Public Accounts to answer queries raised against his Ministry and Parastatals under him.
The Office of the Auditor General of the Federation has queried the ministry of Industry, Investment and Trade and some Parastatals under it over some alleged financial infractions.
As worrisome as the development is, Adebayo said, the government was doing all it could to stop such companies from relocating to other African countries.
According to him, the neighbouring Ghana has introduced some incentives and increased capital allowances to
companies which have moved to Ghana with lots of investments.
Adebayo what is still sustaining the country was its population which is a huge market.
He said the government was looking for ways of increasing the level of new investment in the country and sustaining existing ones, saying “our duty is to support investment growth In Nigeria. It is public knowledge that getting these investments is increasingly becoming difficult today”.
Speaking while briefing the Minister and his team on the purpose of the invitation by the Committee, the Chairman of the House Committee on Public Account, Rep. Busayo Oluwole Oke disclosed that several companies operating in the country were in the habit of not paying the required revenue to government leading to lack of revenue for the operation of the government services.
According to him, “Nigeria is bleeding. We are borrowing daily to finance our budget and the Minister of Finance has said that the reason we are borrowing is because we are not collecting the revenue we are supposed to collect.
“The Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment had issued some instruments which earned companies tax breaks and tax holidays. But this scheme had been abused by the companies.
Some African countries luring multinational companies to relocate – Minister
