Mbah opens Anchorage drug plant in Enugu, eyes supply deal for state clinics

Enugu State governor Peter Mbah on Thursday opened a drug manufacturing plant in Trans-Ekulu, Enugu, built by Anchorage Pharmaceutical Industries Limited. The company describes the facility as a multi-billion naira investment.

For ordinary residents, the plant could mean two things: more medicines made inside Nigeria rather than imported, and new jobs in a state where many young people leave to look for work.

Mbah said the factory is about more than business. He called it an investment in public health, in the state's economy and in the future of young people, according to reports of the ceremony.

The governor said the plant would hire workers, take on interns and pass skills to trainees, while helping health facilities across the state get medicines.

State may buy from the plant

Mbah said his government would look at buying medicines commercially from Anchorage for its central medical stores and primary healthcare centres.

He noted that the state is building 260 Type-2 primary healthcare centres, and that those facilities will need steady supplies of essential drugs to work properly.

We are interested in made-in-Enugu, and that's what you're doing here,

he said, adding that his administration wants to work with private firms, not just create a friendly environment for them.

The governor also said private money is central to growing Enugu's economy, and that the state wants skilled young people to stay and build careers at home rather than travel elsewhere.

Rear Admiral Allison Madueke (retd), who chairs the company's board, thanked Mbah for making the state attractive to investors. He described Anchorage as a legacy project meant to create jobs, grow local talent and add to economic development.

Madueke, a former Chief of the Naval Staff and former military governor of the old Anambra and Imo states, said the company will put product quality, patient safety, regulatory compliance and good corporate governance first. He also acknowledged the role of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) in protecting public health.

The company's managing director, Chima Madueke, said Anchorage has secured the approvals and clearances it needs from NAFDAC and the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN).

He said the firm will supply hospitals, healthcare institutions and pharmacies directly, and that it hopes to help fight fake and substandard medicines in Nigeria.

The Enugu government did not say how much the plant cost or how many workers it will employ.

What happens next

The state and the company would need to agree terms before any supply deal to government clinics goes ahead. For now, the plant's impact on drug prices and jobs in Enugu will depend on how much it produces and how quickly it reaches full operation.