By Ayodele Johnson

Although it is just the start of the new month of October, there are a few milestones never seen compared to the previous months. On Nigeria’s Independence Day Anniversary, President Bola Tinubu announced extra cash for low-grade workers for the next six months, and after that came a drop in cement price to ₦3500 from approximately ₦6000 as of September.

Who made the exciting price reduction possible? This was BUA Cement Plc. and its owner, Chairman Abdulsamad Rabiu.

The chairman’s earlier vision as of 15 September was to implement a new price regime by the end of the year and at most by January 2024, when two lines with a production capacity of 3 million metric tonnes each would have been commissioned. This addition would therefore take the cement company to a total of 17 million metric tonnes as its full strength.

With the latest press release coming from BUA Cement Plc. on Independence Day, the mood felt right for a remarkable achievement that would benefit builders and renters.

“As per the commitment made to reduce prices and following a periodic review of our operations for efficiency, the management of BUA Cement Plc wishes to announce and inform our esteemed customers, stakeholders, and the public that effective October 2, 2023, we have decided to bring the price reduction forward.

“As a result, BUA Cement would now be sold at an ex-factory* price of 3,500 Naira per bag so that Nigerians can begin to enjoy the benefits of the price reduction before the completion of our plants,” part of the press statement reads.

BUA Cement reduces ex-factory cement prices to N3,500/bag effective October 2, 2023.
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We refer to our previous pronouncements regarding our intent to reduce cement prices upon the completion of our new lines at the end of the year, in order to spur development in the… pic.twitter.com/3QBhOYJtpS

— BUA Cement (@BUACement) October 1, 2023

ALSO READ: Cement price is bound to hit ₦9,000 after the rainy season. Here is how to stop it

Beyond this was the confirmation that calms dealers and their customers. It is simply saying that those wholesalers who had booked their merchandise ahead of the price reduction will get a consideration that reflects the current development.

Prior to changes in the state of affairs, the Cement Producers Association of Nigeria (CPAN) had raised alarm over the possibility of seeing the price of cement shoot up to ₦9000 after the wet season without federal government intervention. The projection came after ideas circulated in the Ministry of Works, one of which was anticipating building concrete roads as the path to the future.

While improving highway quality is certainly a welcomed endeavour, it would drive up the demand for cement as well as the price. So, this initiative by BUA Cement towards a price reduction is no doubt a life-saving moment in the construction and housing industries.

Other cement companies, for example, Dangote Cement Plc. have a production capacity of 51.6 million tonnes per year across ten countries, and it sells around ₦5,500 per bag. Will the BUA scenario inspire a change in behaviour? All eyes are now fixed on the company to see if there is a possibility.

Ayodele Johnson

Ayodelé is a Lagos-based journalist and the Content and Editorial Coordinator at Meiza. All around the megacity, I am steering diverse lifestyle magazine audiences with ingenious hacks and insights that spur fast, informed decisions in their busy lives.