The Managing Director of Benue Investment and Property Company (BIPC), Dr. Raymond Asemakaha, Thursday, said the state government has introduced a one-stop shop for ease of doing business and offered tax holiday to incentivise investors willing to come to Benue to do business.
Dr. Asemakaha made this known during a meeting with representatives from the Nigerian Brewery at the BIPC corporate headquarters, Makurdi.
He stated the state government’s eagerness to see companies operating in Benue return to full production, adding that the state has a wealth of raw materials as well as a readily available workforce to support the any company that is willing to operate in the state.
He lamented that the Nigerian Brewery failed to utilise the backward integration that would have transformed Benue farmers but rather choose Kaduna state in spite of the fertile land the state has for sorghum cultivation.
He issued a 90-day ultimatum to the Nigerian Brewery to resume production at its plant located along the Makurdi-Gboko Road.
“We’re giving them (Nigerian Brewery) a 90-day ultimatum to resume production because if it is sorghum, we have sorghum. If it is manpower, we have manpower,” Dr. Asemakaha said.
The Benue state government’s initiative to revive the state’s industrial sector and attract investment underscores its commitment to economic development and job creation for its citizens.
In response, Joy Egolum, the Corporate Affairs Manager covering the East and Middle Belt for the Nigerian Brewery, acknowledged the state’s efforts and expressed the company’s willingness to consider the incentives offered.
However, she noted the challenges associated with the immediate resumption of operations, stating that even routine maintenance can be time-consuming.
“We will come back to you very soon, we don’t need 90 days, but anyone who runs a production line will agree with me that even doing maintenance takes a longer time. So it is not possible for us to do production within that time frame, but we understand how passionate you are and we will get a response before the 90 days and proceed from there,” Egolum said.
