Strong indications have emerged that some Nigerian firms may move their operations to Ghana following that country’s promise to provide incentives to firms willing to relocate from Nigeria.
The Ghanaian government promised five years tax holiday (tax exemptions from start of operations) for manufacturing companies depending on which part of the country such firms is located. Ghana is also seen as a country in the West Africa sub-region that boasts of a fair supply of electricity and good policy support.
Reliable sources said that no distant time some of the quoted manufacturing companies on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange would be moving their operations to Ghana because of poor infrastructural state of the home country and double taxation.
They noted that lack of infrastructural facilities have contributed to the rapid folding up of some manufacturing companies like the textile industries and some have to move out their operations to their parent country like Dunlop, Michellin.
Adding to the National Chairman of Progressive Shareholders Association of Nigeria, Mr. Boniface Okezie, some of the manufacturing companies listed on the NSE are currently building their manufacturing plants in Ghana, which they do not want to admit, with the intention of shipping back to the country the finished goods since Nigeria is the market ground.
He said that these companies had been operating for a long time in an unfavourable business environment due to the parlous state of the infrastructure in the country and the unfriendly economic policies of the federal government.
He said it was a big challenge to the government of the day. “If the Ghanaian government is giving such incentives to lure Nigerian manufacturers to their country what is the Nigerian government doing to enable them remain here” he queried.
