Operators in real estate sector have protested against the recent hike in cement price.
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Speaking on behalf of the operators, President of Real Estate Developer’s Association of Nigeria (REDAN), Dr. Aliyu Wamakko contended that the increase would widen the housing deficit gap.
Wamakko, in a statement yesterday, called on President Bola Tinubu to summon cement manufacturers for discussion to forestall further hardship.
“The price of ready-mix concrete will also be increased while the cost of production of concrete will rise significantly. Such an increment, if allowed to take place, will worsen the economic situation of the nation.
“When there is construction, there is a multiple employment and it helps to reduce the poverty index of the country.
“But remember that because of no employment, the resultant effect is banditry, kidnapping, armed robbery.
“The federal government should also remember that we have 28 million housing deficit in Nigeria.
“Cement is an essential ingredient in the production of buildings. Frequency in the increase of its price has negatively impacted the nation’s housing sector. Experience has shown that high prices of cement tend to encourage a reduction in the quality of building production,” he said.
He recalled raising an alarm that the initiative of the Federal Government to introduce concrete roads would raise the price of cement to N9,000 per bag from the current price of N5,000,
Wamakko who doubles as the Chief Executive Officer of Jedo investment Limited called on the government to permanently address the perennial cement price hike by facilitating larger participation in the cement industry, and stressed that Nigerians had no business buying cement for more than N3,500 per bag.
He charged President Tinubu to investigate why the current price of a 50kg bag of cement was N7,500 despite a cement manufacturer recently promising a price of N3,500 for the product.
“You see, cement is a major component in building construction, serving as a binder substance, hardens and adheres to other materials to bind them together.
“The Chairman of BUA Group, Abdulsamad Rabiu, had last year announced the intention of his brand to crash cement prices from over N5,500 per bag to N3,500 beginning from January this year. But the price has remained unchanged.
“Major retailers have kept on with the old prices ranging from N5, 500 to almost 8,000 in major locations even as distributors claim to have old stocks or logistics costs pushing prices up,” he lamented.
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