It is no longer news that Nigeria’s number two citizen will be arriving Akwa Ibom on Saturday as the state celebrates 30 years of statehood. A walk round the major streets in the state, the events of the last couple of days and the orange festivity in the air, are indicators that the state is in celebration gear. However as Prof Osinbajo arrives for the second time in less than a year, what is he expected to see?
Loading ...It is evidently clear that Governor Udom Emmanuel’s vision to launch Akwa Ibom State in the rare space of the big league of modernization, industrialization and wealth creation is cast in concrete. Shining testimonies to this, being the establishment of the Jubilee Syringe Manufacturing Company Limited, and the Electric Metering Factory, both of which were attracted to the State through the governor’s Foreign Direct Investment Initiative. These two factories are to be commissioned by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo as an epitaph of 30th anniversary of the state’s creation.
Located on an 8,000 square meter of land area in Onna Local Government of Akwa Ibom State, Jubilee Syringe is a public private partnership firm owned by a Turkish-born businessman and investor, Mr Onur Kumral. The Company which is the first manufacturer of disposable Syringes in Nigeria and the whole of West Africa will literacy inject economic life blood into Akwa Ibom State without any feeling of pains.
Managing Director of the Company, Engr Zubeyir Gulabi says the company has the capacity of manufacturing Four Hundred Million syringes per year and Akwa Ibom for the industry has the best leadership, infrastructure and security for the concern. The managing director said their decision to berth in Akwa Ibom was as a result of their understanding of the track records and reputation of the state governor, Mr. Udom Emmanuel. It is believed that by the end of 2018, with a target of one billion syringes per year the syringe factory will be the biggest in the world.
The raw materials for the industry are produced by Nigerian Petrochemical companies, and the machinery needed to start the production of syringes is in place. For instance eight Production lines have been installed preparatory to the talk off of the project. There are also the raw materials warehouses where officials hint that processing actually starts from there. The finished products warehouse is indeed a wonder to behold as it unmasks technology of a modern world. There is also the ‘clean room’ where manufacturing actually takes place, and the sensation room where people are restricted. The Syringes will be kept there for eight hours before they are moved. Forty Eight Syringes will be manufactured in every 10 seconds.
Earlier this year in May, a visibly impressed Governor Udom Emmanuel during his visit to the syringe factory, had assured Akwa Ibom people that more industries will be established in the state to engender job opportunities and stimulate the economy.
Through the aid of the Governor, 12 sons and daughters of the state were sent to Istanbul, Turkey, for training in key areas of Injection Machines. They were trained on the operation of Injection Moulding Machines, Maintenance of Moulds and Quality Control.
The Metering Solutions Manufacturing Services Limited is a conglomerate of several companies, which would partner to proffer solution to problems arising from electricity generation and distribution. The company is expected to produce single-phase and three-phase electricity meters in various configurations and mountings, light weight, slim skeletal, compact meters for pole top installation, prepayment type meters, split type electricity meters, standard one unit electricity meters, bulk electricity meters, maximum demand meters and smart electricity meters.
The arrival of the Vice President shall also signal the take-off of a meter manufacturing company, Metering Solutions Manufacturing Services Limited (MSMSL), which ground breaking was performed in December 2015 in Awa – Iman, Onna Local Government Area. When the technical partners from China, Pakistan and India visited the state, they confirmed through their spokesperson Mr. Zhang Loohang, that the facility is sited in Akwa Ibom because of its strategic location in the Gulf of Guinea and attributed its establishment to the passion in making electricity available and affordable in the state by Governor Emmanuel. Already, the company has employed 150 Akwa Ibomites in the administrative and technical sections of the company.
Governor Emmanuel is also welcoming the Vice President to commission the newly rehabilitated General Hospital in Etinan. Recently, while flagging off the construction of a modern General Hospital in Ituk Mbang to serve the Uyo metropolis, Governor Emmanuel had said his administration was committed to the maintenance of a healthy population. The General Hospital Etinan, the Modern General Hospital, Ituk Mbang, the General Hospital Ikono and the Immanuel Hospital, Eket are among the hospitals at different stages of renovation and re-equipping.
Etinan General Hospital has recorded an exceptional testimony, for a center that had virtually been abandoned to rodents and reptiles for over ten years. Commenting on this development, the medical superintendent of the General Hospital, Etinan, Dr. Eshiet Ime thanked the governor for raising the standard of the hospital with modern facilities and technology to harness the work force, saying that it’s clear departure to the recent past when the place was a complete eyesore.
The hospital has witnessed a facelift with modern facilities and structures, wards endowed with new electrical beds, well equipped theatres to manage all kinds of surgeries, fully stocked pharmacies, and a handful of trained nurses and doctors.
Governor Udom Emmanuel has repeatedly noted that the development at the General hospital Etinan is just a tip off the iceberg as proper measures were being taken to rehabilitate all secondary health centres across the state. The equipment that are being brought in, are of best quality and world standards; resulting from the administration’s resolve to partner with international agencies to provide quality healthcare services in accordance with international best practices.
The Jubilee Syringe and the Metering Solutions companies are on the verge of creating new jobs and stimulating the growth of the country’s economy. Apart from providing security and land for the business, the state government is ready with a 2 x 60KVA power sub-station that will provide 24 hours daily power supply to five local governments, including the host community of the syringe company. It has also building a 29 kilometer dualised road network from the factory location in Onna to Etinan local government main town, which the government is also connecting to Uyo the state capital, with a 25kilometer dual expressway. On the other end, the Syringe Company also links effectively with the East West Road and connects with the 19.5 kilometer Eket – Ibeno dual carriage way constructed by Governor Emmanuel for unfettered access to the locations of multinational oil and gas firms in the state.
Professor Yemi Osinbajo, it can be said, is arriving Uyo to witness a chip of how beautifully, Governor Udom Emmanuel has positioned Akwa Ibom on the radar of economic development and wealth creation. At thirty, Akwa Ibom is sipping the nectar of dividends of good governance with Governor Udom Emmanuel the architect of this loveable magic.
