Benue Set To Provide Jobs For 50,000 Displaced Persons (IDPs)

Benue Set To Provide Jobs For 50,000 Displaced Persons (IDPs)

The Benue State Government is targeting 50,000 direct jobs for internally displaced persons and refugees in the state.

The Managing Director of Benue Investment and Property Company, Dr Raymond Asemakaha, stated this on Tuesday, adding that this would be made possible through its Innovative Entrepreneurship and Employment Initiatives.

From the data made available during World Humanitarian Day by the state government, the state is hosting 9,318 Cameroonian refugees displaced from the Anglophone communities bordering the country.

Dr Asemakaha, speaking when he received the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Assistant High Commissioner for Operations, Mr Raouf Mazou; German Ambassador to Nigeria, Ambassador Annett Günther and other UNHCR delegation, during a visit to the BIPC water and bread factories in Makurdi, on Tuesday, said the employment initiatives would also impact 80,000 families in the state.

He presented a signed Proof of Concept to the UNHCR for its innovative entrepreneurship and employment initiatives aimed at empowering IDPs and refugees.

He said the PoC outlined BIPC’s comprehensive plan to provide sustainable livelihoods, skills training, and micro-employment opportunities to vulnerable populations in Benue State.

Asemakaha requested the UNHCR to partner with the company in expanding the bakery for bread production, water factory, Emperor Fertilizer, agro-commodities hub and fruits factory, which will commence production in two months.

Other businesses the company plans to develop in conjunction with the UNHCR are the normal saline factory, food basket beer factory, central parking system, BIPC nylon production, nail manufacturing, textile, and bread wrapper printing, among others.

“This BIPC innovative initiative such as the motorcycle hire purchase scheme, CNG kits installation and central parking system are designed to help reduce unemployment among displaced persons.

“The interventions are estimated to create over 50,000 direct jobs, impacting over 80,000 families,” he said.

Responding, Mazou commended the BIPC for its innovation and for providing economic support to the Cameroonian refugees at Ikyogen, in the Kwande Local Government Area and other IDPs.

He assured Benue State that the UNHCR would continue to be supportive expands in expanding the company’s businesses through Public-Private Partnerships.

The UNHCR High Commissioner said the model presented by the state was a shining example of how private sector entities could make a meaningful impact on the lives of IDPs and refugees and expressed the willingness to partner with the company through its approach of sustainable programming and Global Compact on Refugees.

IDPs and refugees, including Cameroonian refugees, Comfort Oya, Blessing Anyiman, and Nicholas Ukeyima, expressed gratitude for the skills they had acquired through BIPC’s programme in the state.