Benin, Dec. 6, 2019 (NAN) The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) says it will establish a pineapple processing plant in Edo State for the reintegration of returnees from Libya and other countries.
The organisation’s Project Consultant, Mr Babatunde Abdulkareem, made the disclosure on Friday, while inspecting the plant’s equipment with the Ovia South West Local Government Council’s Chairman, Mr Destiny Enabulele in Benin, South South Nigeria.
Abdulkareem, who said that the initiative was a Community Based Re-integration Process (CBRP), added that it was meant to reintegrate the returnees as well as provide them with means of livelihood.
“It is our believe that this plant would serve as a means of reintegrating these returnees.
“The plant will also create job opportunities and discourage people from embarking on such journeys in search of `greener pastures’,” he said.
According to him, the pineapple processing factory and the Community Based Re-integration Process (CBRP), would be first of its kind in Africa.
The IOM’s consultant said that the organisation was working hard at curbing illegal migration and human trafficking, adding that it would continue to prioritise returnees’ rehabilitation and reintegration.
He said that the pineapple processing plant was a means of ensuring the sustainability of the resettlement programme for the victims of illegal migration.
Abdulkareem said that the decision to establish the plant in Ovia South West Local Government Council was due to the council’s bumper production of pineapple in the state.
The Council’s Chairman, Mr Destiny Enabulele, assured the organisation of the council’s readiness to provide adequate security for the factory and its personnel.
Edo State has been rated as having the highest number of illegal migrants and human trafficking activities in the last two years, with no fewer than 4,500 returnees from Libya. (
