Follow Us on Google
From Scholastica Hir, Makurdi
As part of efforts to bridge the relevant technical skills gap at the Food Basket Brewery, Benue State Governor, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia, has directed the Benue Investment and Property Company Limited (BIPC) to select 12 Benue youths for a six-week specialized training programme in China on the operation and maintenance of the Electronic Bottle Inspection (EBI) machines.
Governor Alia gave this directive when he inspected ongoing construction and installation work at the Food Basket Brewery located in Akile, along the Makurdi-Gboko Road.
The governor was accompanied by the Commissioner for Trade, Industry, and Investment, Hon. Alumo Orpin, the Group Managing Director of the Benue Investment and Property Company Limited (BIPC), Dr. Raymond Asemakaha, and other senior management staff of the company.
The team was conducted around key installations by the brewery’s Chief Operating Officer, Mr. Emmanuel Adoje.
During the tour, Asemakaha introduced the governor to a team of Chinese expatriates currently handling the installation of EBI machines, a critical component of the plant.
He raised concerns over the shortage of relevant technical skills among Benue youths, stressing the heavy financial toll of reliance on foreign expertise.
Other News
He said: “One of the expatriates has been here for 92 days and earns $250 per day without any certificate excluding feeding and accommodation,” the GMD disclosed.
Responding, Governor Alia directed BIPC to select 12 young people of Benue origin drawn from across the geopolitical zones for a six-week specialized training programme in China on the operation and maintenance of the EBI machines.
According to the governor, the trainees will be grouped into four batches in an effort to domesticate technical expertise and reduce long-term dependence on foreign contractors.
Addressing a large crowd of community members who gathered in solidarity with the governor for the brewery sited in the area, Governor Alia urged the residents to take ownership of the project and safeguard it as a collective asset.
He described the brewery and other ongoing infrastructural works, including roads and underpasses as “a tip of the iceberg,” assuring that the state would witness a full phase of industrial and infrastructural transformation by 2027.
The governor also encouraged residents to participate actively in the ongoing voter registration exercise to ensure they are eligible to vote in the upcoming elections.
The Food Basket Brewery is one of the flagship industrial projects under the Alia administration, executed through BIPC as part of a broader strategy to stimulate industrial growth and economic revitalization in Benue State.
