The industrial sector in Akwa Ibom State got a boost today with the inauguration of giant projects worth billions of naira by Nigeria’s Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo.
The projects were Electric Metre Manufacturing Company and Syringe Factory sited in Onna Local Government Area, which are meant to lay a solid foundation for the industrial resuscitation in the state usually daubed a civil service state.
Technical partners from China, Pakistan and India are collaborating with the Akwa Ibom State Government under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) in the establishment of Electric Metre Manufacturing Company in Awa Iman, Onna Local Government Area. The company would manufacture single-phase and three-phase meters in various configurations and mountings.
The Syringe Factory located at 8,000m2 of land in Onna Local Government Area is handled by Jubilee Syringe under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) with the Akwa Ibom State government. The company owned by a Turkish-born business man and investor, Onur Kumral, whose investment spans over 17 countries in the world, having sent 12 Nigerians to Turkey for training in injection moulding machines, maintenance of moulds and quality control, is set to produce 350 – 400 million syringes annually.
Osinbajo, who inaugurated the projects as part of the activities that marked the 30th anniversary of the creation of the state, hoped that the Electric Metre Manufacturing Company in Akwa Ibom would bring to an end consumer challenges in the power billing system in the country.
He said the facility would now afford electricity consumers the right to determine and know how much energy they consume than continually being left at the mercy of shylock power distribution companies.
The Vice President described the development as the vista of a new dawn in Nigeria’s power sector, and used the occasion to encourage private investors to show interest in electricity and metering distribution in the country.
At the inauguration of the Syringe Factory in Onna, he described Governor Udom Emmanuel as one of the cleverest persons he has ever come across. “I want to appreciate you for the innovation and creativity and for encouraging these investors.”
At the inauguration of the renovated General Hospital, Etinan, the Vice President described the secondary health-care facility as an extremely useful project as it touches the lives of people directly.
“This is what makes governance worthwhile. I am glad to know you are doing it across the state in eight other locations. I congratulate the people of these communities, and I pray Almighty God enable you to complete all you have set your heart to do for the benefit of the people of the state and the Nigerian people,’’ he stated.
Flanked by his Gombe, Delta and Taraba states counterparts, Budget Minister, NDDC Managing Director and other federal government appointees and National Assembly members from the state, Governor Udom Emmanuel said the reconstructed hospital is one of the grassroots projects to launch a new phase of secondary health-care services in 10 federal constituencies across the state.
“The life of every Akwa Ibom person is as important as the life of the governor. Here, pregnant women and children under five are treated free. We are re-launching secondary health-care of international standards in federal constituencies across the state. We are taking health-care back to the grassroots,” he said.
