By Ogenyi Ogenyi,Uyo
Senior Special Assistant to Akwa Ibom State Governor on Research and Documentation, Dr Essien Ndueso has said that it would be unfair to criticise Governor Umo Eno or his predecessor, Mr Udom Emmanuel, over the temporary suspension of operations at the Jubilee Syringe Manufacturing (JSM) company in ONNA.
Essien, while speaking in a radio programme in Uyo at the weekend, blamed the current Nigeria’s unfavourable business environment for the continuous exit of multinational companies and the challenges facing the syringe company.
It would be recalled that the company, reputed to be the largest syringe manufacturing company in Africa was inaugurated in 2017 by former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo but last week announced a temporary suspension of operations citing unforeseen circumstances affecting her business operations as the major reason for its decision.
But Essien, while frowning at some critics who attempted to score cheap political points from the unfortunate situation, noted that the current national economic crisis should be blamed for the company’s temporary setback.
“We all know that since the removal of fuel subsidy, Nigeria is undergoing a serious economic crisis. Foreign exchange, import duties, and interest rates are basically the reasons companies are closing down in Nigeria.
“Outside Akwa Ibom State, several SMEs, according to reports, have completely shutdown operations while several big names have also scaled back operations.
” Reports on Business Day newspaper indicates that companies like GSK Plc, Nigeria’s second-biggest drug producer, GlaxoSmithKline, and Unilever, producers of famous brands like OMO, Sunlight and Lux have also announced cease of operations.” He explained.
Also reacting to some critics who described the State International Worship Center as a misplaced priority, the SSA dismissed such assertions, stressing that there would be nothing wrong in having a befitting central place of worship in a state with nore than 99% Christians.
“While prayers move mountains, praises move God. Before the Worship Centre was built, Akwa Ibom people, who are devoted Christians, used to gather under the sun at Ibom Hall grounds to praise God and for all other religious activities.
“For those who say that the money used to build a befitting temple of God would have been channeled into other things, let me ask; those states that haven’t built international worship centers, do they have free and compulsory education? Do they have better roads than Akwa Ibom State? Do they have more peace than our dear Akwa Ibom State? In what way are they better than Akwa Ibom State?
“When people talk about generation of revenue, have they told us how the Statue of Liberty in US generates revenue?The same people who gather every year to source for funds and visas to travel to the Middle East to go and worship God, are now turning around to criticize a befitting center of worship that would engender religious tourism by our people.
“If the government in a State named after God ought not to build a centre of worship for God, would they rather have built a shrine.” Essien queried.
