By Emmanuel Uffot
When many Akwa Ibom people and Nigerians were celebrating the the berth of a new year, for staff and customers of Jubilee Syringe Manufacturing Company located in Away, Onna Local Government in Akwa Ibom State, their celebrations were cut off by the news of the shut down of operations of the company and the staff sent home.
Although findings revealed that the Syringe Company reputed to be the largest manufacturers of Syringe in Africa is said to have stopped operations some months ago, but on new year day, it came out with a memo announcing the shut down of its operational line on December 31, 2023 and asked workers to go home due to what management said ” unforeseen circumstances affecting our business operations”.
The memo the decisions described as painful but necessary, was to implement temporary measures to ensure the long term sustainability of the company.
The statement addressed to staff announcing their temporary redundancy titled” Temporary Redundancy Service not Needed Till Further Notice”.
The statement read in part ” We trust this message finds you in good health. With a heavy heart, we write to you today to communicate a challenging decision that Jubilee Syringe Manufacturing Company limited has had to make due to unforeseen circumstances affecting our business operations.
” After careful consideration and a thorough evaluation of our current business situation, we regret to inform you that we must implement temporary measures to ensure the long-term sustainability of the company”.
Expectedly, the shut down of operations of the company with staff sent packing went viral and created uncertainty and tongues wagging.
This unhealthy scenario prompted another swift reactions from the core investors VKS Group of Companies to douse apprehension that was already bubbling in the air.
In a statement issued by JSM investors mentioned above through the Managing Director Mr Onur Kural, the investors dismissed the news of total shut down of operations, but rather alluded to the fact that it was a temporary measures to restrategise, restructure and come back stronger given the inability of the management to meet up with the set target by investors.
Kural explained that the company is only undergoing a restructuring phase which will later make it experience a brief break within the period and emphasised that the shut down was temporary and not permanent as insinuated.
He further noted that the reorganisation of Jubilee Syringe Manufacturing Company was the decision of the investors following inability of the management to meet up with expected targets. He clarified that the lay out of workers only affects management staff and the entire structures of the production line.
Kural ” JSM is simply undertaking temporary measures to ensure the long-term sustainability of its operations. Restructuring is not new in any given business environment and sometimes you undertake reviews with sustainability in mind.
We want to assure our esteemed customers that there is no need to panic. We are still in business as Jubilee Syringe Manufacturing Company limited and we are poised to keep to our commitment to remain as the producers of the highest quality syringes in Nigeria. We call on the general public and our esteemed customers to disregard insinuations that JSM has shut down its operations in Nigeria. We remain in business and will come out stronger and better than before”.
The Syringe Manufacturing Company located in Awa in Onna local government was inaugurated on September 23, 2017 by then former Vice- President Dr Yemi Osibanjo, as part of the activities to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the creation of the state.
Before now, many people in Akwa Ibom perhaps only those within the operational environment and environs knew that the company was actually producing as many have not cited the product reputed to be of high quality in pharmacies or patent medicine stores as they would have expected being products manufactured here.
Those nursing this believe especially the crop of those from opposition parties insinuated that most of the companies, the past administration laid claim to establishing were anything but true even as they saw the buildings housing these companies.
Their reasoning were based on the fact that the products are not seen in Akwa Ibom markets.
Specific mentioned was the Toothpick/ Pencil factory in Etinan whose products were expected to have flooded shops, eateries incase of toothpick and schools in respect of pencils, but they are hardly seen.
Same as the Kings Flour Mill also in Onna said to have been producing, but the products are no way be found in the State.
It is in this light that many had took the story of the Jubilee Syringe Manufacturing products with a pinch of salt.
However checks in some key hospitals in the state, especially Ibom Specialist Hospital in Akwa Ibom State confirmed that indeed, the hospital has been patronising the product and they are truly of high quality.
A senior matron in the hospital Mrs Etimbuk UbongAbasi confirmed to Scroll that indeed the hospital has been buying their syringe and they are good quality product.
Again contrary to the the statement from investors that only management staff and the production line were affected by the ‘ temporary lay off’, this medium confirmed that the shut down has affected over 90 percent of the the staff that formed the major hands in the production line.
Contrary to the restructuring excuse gave by the investors as reasons for their shut down of operations of JSM, findings by Scroll reveals that the harsh operational environment instigated by high diesel price and high cost of foreign exchange with Naira exchanging at over ₦1000 to one US Dollar may have been the main cost of the lull in their business since they could no more meet up with the high operational cost as against low demands due to economic crunch experience in the country towards the end of the last administration in Nigeria and worsened in the past seven months of President Tinubu’s administration due to some policies.
It is also significant to note that the current shut down of operations of the syringe company not necessarily due to mismanagement but economic crunch has raised concern among Akwa Ibom people given how supposedly big companies in Akwa Ibom State like Aluminium Smelter Company in Ikot Abasi and Newsprint Manufacturing Company, Oku Iboku had gone under more than three decades ago without revitalisation till date.
These companies including the ones piloted by immediate past government in the state like the syringe, many believe would have given thousands of employment to Akwa Ibom State youths who trooped to Lagos and other states in search of unavailable jobs.
This concern, we gathered has prompted some persons to call on the state Governor’s intervention being an entrepreneur himself.
However, as at the time of this report, there was no reaction either from the state government or the former Governor who caused the establishment of the company which is in his hometown Awa, in Onna LGA.
