Benue juice factory to create 400 jobs by October

From Scholastica Hir

The Benue Investment and Property Company (BIPC) said the juice factory it is constructing at the industrial layout in Makurdi will become operational on Tuesday, October 1, 2025.

The Group Managing Director (GMD), BIPC, Dr Raymond Asemakaha, disclosed this on Tuesday, July 15, while interacting with newsmen at the NUJ House in Makurdi.

Asemakaha said the equipment installation at the juice factory is 100 percent complete, adding that the company will engage 400 workers.

He stated that the company would be producing mango and orange juice by taking the fruits from Benue farmers at a good price, thereby setting prices for those who come from the north to exploit Benue farmers.

The MD said, “We have installed the juice factory. It is going to start precisely on Tuesday, October 1, 2025. The juice factory is just beside Naka Road, with a 65,000 capacity, 100 percent installed.

“We are expecting the manufacturer to come in the month of August to test run so that we would start producing the orange and mango juice.

“We want to set a standard, and by the time we start, we would determine the price of oranges in Nigeria. Benue has the best oranges and mangoes, and our people take them to the North and give them at a price that is not reasonable. So we want to halt those things, and if they want to buy, they can come to Benue and buy at our own price, which is one of the things we are doing.

“The factory would also employ about 400 staff with direct jobs, and I have got partners from the European Union (EU) that would come to run this factory as it is highly technical, while our team would be part of the management staff.”

He also stated that with the establishment of water, bread, nails, and polythene industries, BIPC has employed 580 direct jobs and 3,008 indirect jobs in the state.

He further noted that the construction work on the new Benue Brewery has reached 84 percent completion and would also commence operation by engaging over 1,000 jobs.

He said the brewery would make use of local materials, including cassava and rice, among others, urging farmers to go into massive production of the raw materials.

When asked about the sustainability plan of the companies after his exit from office, Asemakaha dismissed the old insinuation that government has no business managing businesses, citing Akwa Ibom Airlines and some companies in China which are doing well in business, saying the problem is the character of the business managers.

According to him, “The problem with BIPC in the past is putting wrong people in place. They thought that the place is a cash cow and they have come to milk it. I’m already training those under me on how to manage business investments. So even after me, the companies would flourish.”

He suggested that the companies should be incorporated into limited liability companies where the state government can own 30 percent of the shares and the other shares be sold to responsible members of the state to enable the people to own it for sustainability.

He urged Benue youths to acquire skills in addition to their certificates to enable them to fit into the new economy.