Oil & Gas Pains: Layoffs Expected as Energy Costs Cripple Nigerian Businesses. The leadership of Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA) and National Union of Food, Beverages, Tobacco Employees (NUFBTE) have raised alarm over looming mass sack across the country.
This is just as they called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to intensify his efforts to protect the jobs of remaining workers left in the country to forestall rising cases of insecurity across the country.
Citing the over 20,000 workers that already lost jobs within few weeks as reason for their call, both NECA and NUFBTE in different interviews with LEADERSHIP, warned that the efforts to bring in fresh investors by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu would be a mirage, as would be investors would be discouraged as old ones are closing down.
In his own submission, the director general of NECA, Adewale-Smatt Oyerinde reminded federal government that multitude of hungry men and women could be potential instrument against peace. Oyerinde called on government to reduce the heavy burden that is working against Real sector for surviving and new ones to come into the land.
According to him, multiple taxation, near-zero electricity supply, high cost of diesel, inability to get forex, fuel and increasing cost of servicing and maintaining power generation are some of the obstacles confronting the sector.
He reiterated that efforts to win more investors into the country could be a waste of time as those closing down would send wrong signal to fresh investors.
On his part, the president of National Union of Food, Beverages, Tobacco Employees (NUFBTE) Comrade Garba Ibrahim, described the current harsh business environment as discouraging factor that could hinder the move by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s regime wooing of foreign investors to yield positive seeds.
According to Ibrahim, more companies may still close shop and throw hundreds of workers into labour market based on number of issues like multiply taxation; high cost of energy generation due to hike in cost of diesel and maintenance of those plants and generators being used by manufacturing companies.
Among those big companies that have left the country and throw over 20, 000 workers into labour market are: Mayor Biscuits Company Limited; Louis Carter Industries; Moak Enterprises; Tower Aluminium; GlaxoSmithKline Nigeria; Technoflex Company Limited; Evans Medicals and small and medium scale businesses.
