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From Scholastica Hir, Makurdi
The Managing Director, Benue Investment and Property Company, (BIPC), Limited, Dr Raymond Asemakaha, has attributed the high level of insecurity in the state to unemployment.
Asemakaha stated this on Friday while playing host to members of the Correspondents Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, (NUJ), Benue state chapter, led by the Chairman, Mr Emmanuel Antswen, in his office in Makurdi
According to him, over 4.8 people in the state , predominantly youths are unemployed, a development he said is triggering insecurity and other forms of criminalities in the state.
He has therefore disclosed that the company in collaboration with the state government is establishing Micro and Nano businesses to take the teeming unemployed population off the streets.
“Because Benue state does not have a private owned companies that could employed up to 100 persons at a stretch, it is affecting our teeming youths, it is affecting the state.
“As we speak, Benue state has over 6.3 million people. By the labour law, when you are 18, you are already an adult. Currently, we have about 4.8 million people that are on the streets and do not have jobs.
“If you go to our colleges of education and other high institutions, you will see that there is high turn over of students that are graduates.”
He argued that for those numbers of people not having jobs is a big problem to him and that is why since he resumed office, the company under his leadership has started creating short term businesses that will help handpick those people out of the street.
According to him, by March 2024, the company will be launching Benue palm oil and water factories to provide job opportunities for the teeming population hence the production capacity of the state is extremely low.
“What we want to do is to ensure that at every quarter, we employ 60 people and by that we will be reducing the unemployment rate on the streets.
“The state’s GDP is 5.8 billion and since the state does not have any private company that produces, even if it saves N20 billion, it moves in forms of capital flight.”
He lamented that people only flood the state to take away resources saying henceforth, the government is devising ways to retain the cash flow in the system.
According to him, over 63.8 percent of little private companies in the state are dormant because of lack of support from the federal government, noting that the little that people started have gone down and as such that has put people out of job leading to insecurity.
He said to tackle the challenges of insecurity, the Rev Fr Hyacinth Alia’s administration is embarking on diversification of the economy. “So from the rural to urban, we will handpick those people and do something different”
He therefore appealed to the media to support the activities of the company for the overall development of Benue state economy.
The MD who said the company is open to whatever that will move the state forward, said upon assumption of office, he embarked on forensic auditing of the company’s activities leading to the discovery of some sharp practices by the past management.
He disclosed that the company post loses amounting to N1.6 billion between 2019 to 2023 due to arbitrary approvals and expenditures.
Asemakaha said he met a debt profile of N2.1 billion ranging from non payment and remittance of pension, gratuity, Industrial Training Funds, (ITF), among others saying he is making frantic efforts to pay the arrears to ensure that everything is seamless in the company.
