- Contracts distribution to third party
Bayer has announced that it is shutting down its operations in Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy as it re-strategises its operation on the continent.
The pharmaceutical company said it would contract a third party to distribute its pharmaceutical products in Nigeria and three other African markets – Kenya, Ghana and Ethiopia.
The company which has 200 employees noted that the impact on jobs will be minimal.
It added that its exit will not impact its crop science division, which makes up 90% of the business.
Bayer will hand over the warehousing, distribution and sales representation of the medicines business, including for oncology and ophthalmology, to an unidentified third company beginning in May, it said.
The company did not say how many jobs would be affected, saying the process of identifying those roles was ongoing.
The move is similar to Britain’s GSK. The exit of GSK sent prices of their products off the roof in Nigeria, impacting end users, many of whom are struggling to survive in Nigeria’s dwindling economy.
Bayer AG is a German multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporation that ranks among the world’s largest pharmaceutical and biomedical companies.
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault")
