International Displaced Persons (IDPs) and refugees in Benue State are excited as the Benue Investment and Property Company Limited (BIPC) has extended empowerment opportunities to. them.
This group of vulnerable persons in the state often depends on handouts and menial jobs to survive the biting poverty and hunger.
But in a deft move to change their economic situation from a beggarly position to a self-reliant status, the BIPC extended employment slots, traineeship opportunities, and motorcycles on a hire-purchase basis to them.
The company has also offered 15 percent of its traineeship opportunities to the refugees and IDPS at its bakery and water factory in Makurdi, where they will learn baking and water treatment skills.
Dr. Raymond Asemakaha-CFA, the Managing Director of BIPC, who was represented by Mr. James Ortese, the Unit Head of New Businesses, and Joshua Nyipira, Department Head, Administration and Human Resources Management, stated during the World Refugee Day event at Ikyogen Refugee Settlement that the initiative aims to empower refugees economically and enhance their livelihoods.
The MD explained that the training program is designed to equip refugees and internally displaced persons with skills in baking and water treatment, enabling them to become self-sufficient and contribute to the state’s economy.
He indicated that a refugees’ backward integration scheme for the BIPC Brewery, encouraging the refugees to use the 89 hectares presented to them by the state government to cultivate sorghum and casava that would be purchased by the company for beer production.
“We recognize the challenges faced by displaced persons and are committed to supporting their integration into our community. We believe that economic empowerment is key to their well-being, and we hope that these initiatives will make a positive impact on their lives,” Ortese stated.
Receiving the motorcycles on behalf of the refugees, United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) Assistant Protection Officer Sally Ineji Okpaje, appreciated BIPC’s contributions in improving the economic lives of refugees, including the donation of six grounding machines during International Women’s Day.
Okpaje lauded BIPC’s initiative to offer traineeships to refugees and IDPS, stating that the gesture will go a long way in empowering the refugees.
He also revealed that a memorandum of understanding has been developed between BIPC and UNHCR on two business models that would impact the refugees, internally displaced persons, and the people of the state.
The Chairman of Ikyogen Refugee Settlement, Mr. Obat Thomas Obat, expressed his gratitude to the company and Governor Hyacinth Iormem Alia for their support.
The motorcycle hire-purchase scheme, traineeship, donation of grounding machines, and backward integration are deliberate measures put in place by the company in line with the vision of His Excellency, Rev. Fr. Dr. Hyacinth Iormem Alia to provide refugees and IDPS with economic opportunities.
