The President, Medical Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, and Managing director of Jubilee Syringe Manufacturing company, Onna, Akwa Ibom state, Mr Akin Oyediran, has said that sustained advocacy by his association in 2022, led to the ban in the importation of substandard syringes into the country by the Senate.
Oyediran who emerged the chairman of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, Cross River/Akwa Ibom branch, said he would replicate same advocacy to the governments of the two states in order to move the manufacturing sector forward as well as increase its membership in the states.
He made the promise on Tuesday in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, while fielding questions from our correspondent, shortly after his emergence as the branch chairman of MAN.
Oyediran was speaking at the 15th Annual General Meeting and public lecture with the theme, ‘Challenges of FX Sourcing; The Manufacturers’ Perspective,Export Windows available and thinking outside the box’.
He said, “The two assignments go together; Medical Manufacturers association is more of working with medical manufacturers in Nigeria, while MAN is a broader association of manufacturers. I will find time to do what I needed to do because it is very important to our business.
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“Medical Manufacturers Association was able to get the Senate to ban syringes last year, and also able to get the Ministry of Health to ensure that Nigeria made syringes are used in hospitals across Nigeria.
“So, if we can take that kind of advocacy work from what Medical Manufacturers Association has done, and also help the manufacturing industries, in this region, it will just be good for us.
“The outgoing chairman has done very well in bringing up the association from being comatose. My mandate is to go out there and do more advocacy work to the governments to help manufacturing industries in terms of foreign exchange, tax control and government policies, and reads”.
While appreciating Governor Udom Emmanuel for providing the enabling environment including construction of roads and other incentives, Oyediran said his push for the relocation of the branch headquarters from Cross River to Akwa Ibom is because the government of Akwa Ibom is more business-friendly.
“As a matter of fact, Akwa Ibom government promised us a piece of land to build our headquarters. So, we see more of activities here than in Cross River State as far as industrialisation is concerned,” he said.
