Benue State Government has stated that it has offered tax holidays to investors interested in investing in the state.
This is as it directed the Nigerian Brewery to resume production at its plant located along Makurdi/Gboko road within the next 90 days.
Recall that Nigerian Brewery which took over the plant in the state relocated to Kaduna a few years ago due to what it termed ‘unfriendly business environment’.
But speaking during a meeting with the representatives from the Nigerian Brewery at the Benue Investment and Property Company Limited corporate headquarters in Makurdi Wednesday evening, its Managing Director, Dr Raymond Asemakaha said that government had created a more business-friendly environment.
The MD said that government has introduced a one-stop shop for ease of doing business and the offer of tax holidays to incentivize investors.
Asemakaha expressed the state government’s eagerness to see companies operating in the state return to full production, stating that the state has a wealth of raw materials, such as sorghum, as well as a readily available workforce to support the brewery’s operations.
On the return of Nigerian Brewery, the MD said, “We’re giving them (Nigerian Brewery) a 90-day ultimatum to resume production because if it is sorghum, we have sorghum. If it’s manpower, we have manpower.
He added, “The state has introduced easy ways of doing business with a one-stop shop, and so with tax holidays, it is important for you to quickly return to production.
He lamented that the Nigerian Brewery failed to utilize the backward integration that would have transformed Benue farmers but rather chose Kaduna despite the fertile land the state has for sorghum cultivation.
In his response, Joy Egolum, the Corporate Affairs Manager covering the East and Middle Belt for the Nigerian Brewery, acknowledged the state’s efforts and expressed the company’s willingness to consider the incentives offered.
However, she noted the challenges associated with the immediate resumption of operations, stating that even routine maintenance can be time-consuming.
“We will come back to you very soon; we don’t need 90 days, but anyone who runs a production line will agree with me that even doing maintenance takes a longer time. So it’s not possible for us to do production within that time frame, but we understand how passionate you are, and we will get a response before the 90 days and proceed from there,” Egolum said.
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