The Benue State Government has revealed that the state has become one of the highest consumers of alcohol, especially lager beer, as about N1bn billion worth of beer is consumed monthly in the state.
Disclosing this while taking journalists on a tour of the proposed state-owned brewery, water and bakery factories in Makurdi on Tuesday, May 8, 2024, the Managing Director of Benue Investment and Property Company (BIPC), Raymond Asemakaha, said, when completed, the factories would help in stopping Capital flight to other states.
Asemakaha said the initiative to establish the brewery came up as a result of recent findings, which showed an unprecedented amount of money leaving the state monthly because of mind boggling beer consumption.
He further said that the study sshowed that N850m worth of beer is consumed monthly, from January to November while that of every December worths over N1bn yearly.
“Basically, when we came on board, we understood that the rate of alcohol consumption in the state is around N850m-N870m per month.
“We understand that the people who sell these beers are taking this money out of Benue State.
“So, we concluded that all we need to do is float a new company that can be able to retain the cash flow in the state. That is why we are embarking on beer production.
“This N850m to N870m is a monthly sale of beers in the state and, in December, the sales were over N1bn. So, one of the things we are doing is to help retain the cash flow within the system.”
Benue residents consume over N1bn worth of beer monthly – BIPC MD