From Msurshima Andrew, Makurdi
The Managing Director of Benue Investment and Property Company, (BIPC), Dr Raymond Asemakaha, has disclosed that the company is extending the companies bread factory to other parts of the state to prune down, to the barest minimum, the rate of unemployment in the state.
According to the MD, the company is poised to generate job opportunities to take 5000 Benue youths off the streets by the end of December 2024.
He stated this on Monday while addressing newsmen after an inspection of projects embarked upon by the company.
The projects include the construction of a branch of the company’s bread factory located at Naka road and the construction of the polythene bags production factory, all in Makurdi, the Benue state capital.
While the company had employed over 500 people directly and indirectly, in the last few months, Asemakaha said the polythene factory will engage over 100 Benue people, while the bread factory at Naka would take of about 300 youths off the streets making it 400 and above.
He said “BIPC project are deliberately designed to expand BIPC bread, the water factory and other businesses.
“What we have at the other side can employ over 100 people and provide 175 indirect jobs for the people. In the next 15 days, we would be commissioning the place.”
He explained the company is expanding the factories to meet up the bread and water demand adding that “One of the things that make us to introduce that nylon printing factory is because we are printing in Lagos for over 27 million.
“But by the time we start in the next two weeks, we will be producing the bread nylon bag, the pure water bag and we will be extruding here. We will also be doing the labeling here instead of taking our money to different states.We want to retain our cash flow within the system so that we will increase the state GDP.
“Our intention is to expand our production to other Local Governments in the state. We want to reduce the mitigation risk. We want to start going to Otukpo, Gboko and Katsina-Ala LGAs. I can assure you that every quarter, we want to deliver and roll out a new project.”
The MD who noted that the company was spending close to N18 million in printing of nylons for just bread wrapper and label, said “if we are producing here, 50 percent of that money will will be retained.”
While lamenting that Benue has about 4.7 unemployed graduates, the MD said “We are bringing all these businesses; nano businesses, micro businesses and SMEs, to mitigate the rate of high employment that is in the society, and assured the people that they would not increase but maintain the price of N1,100 per bread.
Asemakaha appreciated Governor Hyacinth Alia for his support to the BIPC team saying his commitment helped them to resurrect the which was dead when they resumed office.
He enthused that “In the next two to three years, we will be in the stock market, that is the projection.”
