The Benue State Government has announced its intention to offer tax holidays to investors who desire to invest in the state.
According to the Managing Director of Benue Investment and Property Company Limited, Dr Raymond Asemakaha the gesture is to revive and attract more investors to the state.
Mr Asemakaha who received the representatives of the Nigerian Brewery in Makurdi called on the management of the company to resume production at its plant located along Makurdi/Gboko road within the next 90 days.
He said that the government had created a more business-friendly environment citing the offer of tax holidays to incentivize investors.
Mr Asemakaha reinstated 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.
“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 said.
He lamented that the Nigerian Brewery failed to make use of the backward integration that would have transformed Benue farmers but rather chose Kaduna State despite the fertile land the state has for sorghum cultivation.
Joy Egolum who is the Corporate Affairs Manager covering the East and Middle Belt for the Nigerian Brewery in her response, acknowledged the state’s efforts and expressed the company’s willingness to consider the incentives offered.
