The resolutions won’t be immediately implemented to accommodate a quick pause for preparation, but at least the federal government and manufacturers have hatched an agreement which guarantees a reversal in the costly price of cement down to ₦8000 at most.

Depending on wherever in the country a buyer is, they can get a bag worth as low as ₦7000 which is what Works Minister, Dave Umahi has been reaching for over the cost of four weeks since prices started shooting up to the region of ₦13,000.

After hosting cement manufacturers in Abuja on Monday, 19 February came a communique issued by Mr Umahi’s ministry. The document amounted to a deck of agreements, meaning the things that ought to be in place before a permanent lowering of price can stick.

If Nigerians are to be able to build new homes, their government must first provide motorable roads along the pathways that trucks transporting cement to inlets nationwide would normally want to pass through.

The meeting discussed extensively the current prices of cement vis-à-vis the challenges from the manufacturers, which the Minister of Works reading out from a communique says had to do with poor road infrastructure and the scampering to access forex.

Reading on, the minister said that, the cement manufacturers and the government have noted that the present (sic) high cost of cement in the market is very much abnormal in some locations nationwide. Ideally, they noted that [the] retail price to a consumer should not cost more than between ₦7,000 to ₦8,000 per 50 kg bag of cement, which proved to be the final agreement.

If the agreed prices are to stay fixed, a price monitoring mechanism to ensure compliance must have been set up by the manufacturers which mainly include Dangote Cement, BUA Cement and Lafarge. These trio cater to a fair share of the market and so their action matters to sustain any new resolution.

Today, the 19th of February 2024, I convened a meeting with esteemed attendees including the Honourable Minister of Industry, Trade & Investment, Dr. Doris Uzoka-Anite, representatives from Dangote Cement PLC, BUA Cement PLC, Larfarge Africa PLC, and members of the Cement… pic.twitter.com/X4GxLtaraX

— David Nweze Umahi (@realdaveumahi) February 19, 2024

Before the price of cement became so steep, there was temporary relief. This is looking back to October 2023 when the cost of a 50kg bag lowered down to ₦3500. It had demanded a direct presidential intervention to bring it to that level.

ALSO READ: Cement price’s dramatic fall to ₦3500 starting from today!

A month prior, the price was ₦9000, which was terribly high at the time prompting a meeting between President Bola Tinubu and Mr Abdul Samad Rabiu who is the chairman of BUA Group.

Experts have noted the consequence of high cement prices. One of these is a reduction in the quality of building materials like concrete which could easily and negatively revert to more properties with little integrity.

Aliyu Wamakko is the president of the Real Estate Developers’ Association of Nigeria (REDAN) and he has been having a similar vision while speaking with Vanguard News.

While advising in a statement, Mr Wamakko said that the federal government should also remember that we have [a] 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.

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.