Benue investment firm unveils revival agenda
The management of the Benue State Investment and Property Company (BIPC) has expressed determination to revive the ailing industrial sector of the state with ongoing plans to recreate opportunities for production value chains.
The company’s Managing Director, Barrister Alex Adum, who made the disclosure during an interview with some journalists in Makurdi, said the immediate priority of the government was to reposition the BIPC as the hub of the state’s industrial revitalisation drive.
He said: “Our determination is to find a way to retool industrial assets in Benue. That is why I’m telling you that we are in discussion with investors. For instance, we are starting with the Otukpo Burnt Bricks factory which we want to bring back into production. Same with the Wannune Tomato and Mango Juice Plant and the Katsina/Ala Yam Factory.
“Our hope is that by the time BIPC is strong in terms of capacity, we should be able to serve as the engine room for industrial reawakening or industrial revival of the Benue valley. Without industries, a large part of our agricultural produce is wasted because when you sell raw agricultural products and produce you won’t get the best of the benefits of what you produce.
“But if you are processing, it means you are taking it to the end of the value chain, so our agriculture will become a lot more meaningful,” Adum explained.
He lamented that the industrial and manufacturing sectors in the state collapsed years ago, recalling that in the early 80s and 90s Benue was an industrial destination.
According to him, unfortunately today, Benue is classified as a civil service state, which means that no other business thrives in Benue except government business.
Adum expressed optimism that BIPC’s income and return from investment in agriculture would be now much more meaningful than what it was at the moment, stressing that the desire of the company was to ensure partnership with the state government to re-enact the state’s past industrial glory.