The answer is no when the question about whether the ₦7000 to ₦8000 for a 50kg bag of cement that the federal government negotiated with manufacturers this past Monday has been satisfactory to Nigerians. This is because they were expecting a lower bar than what was fixed.

Before Works Minister Dave Umahi met with prominent producers on 19 February, the price of cement in some states in Nigeria had reached up to ₦13,000 and that trend looked likely to continue without any intervention.

After the gathering of stakeholders had ended their discussion, the minister went on to publicise the two-street resolutions that were reached. On the part of the federal government, better quality roads would be provided in addition to stopping the diversion of Nigeria-made cement to other countries.

ALSO READ: FG and manufacturers agree that cement won’t go beyond ₦8000 for now

The main burden on the manufacturers is to produce enough quantity and rein in the wild price of cement that building projects are struggling to afford. All these are efforts that do not check with what Nigerians have been expecting since last week when Mr Umahi announced that there was going to be a meeting.

A consultant Sola Enitan who spoke to Punch thinks the reduction is still not it, the manufacturers may think they are saving people money, but it is all bullshit as far as I am concerned.

In one month, cement moved from ₦5,000 to ₦8,000, I believe that the government would begin to feel the pinch further because the circle goes round.”

Rents would go up; intervention areas of government would be to build all their bungalows without cement and use cement sparingly so that the cement manufacturers too would feel the pinch.

It hasn’t helped that there were promises earlier made that have gone unfulfilled. At the moment of filing this report, an initial agreement between BUA Cement Plc and the President of Nigeria, Bola Tinubu to sell BUA products for ₦3,500 starting in January has not yet happened and that has been disappointing.

Please BUA, what happened? I [thought] cement [was] supposed to be ₦3500? reads a tweet by Chukwukazom asking via the X platform. Many more people feel like they have been deceived.

Cement is now N10,000. I just thought to update you people.

Please BUA, what happened? I though Cement is supposed to be N3500?

— Chukwukazom (@Kaz_zom) February 13, 2024

Through their street protests complaining about the harsh economy they are living in, the masses feel they have done enough to communicate the inconvenience that federal government policies have yielded in their lives.

Exorbitant locally produced cement feel like a sign that they are not being heard. That is just the sort of way the Chief Executive Officer of Octo5 Holdings has been reacting to the persistently costly cement. Jide Odusolu revealed that BUA made audio promises, I would like to see who or where they supplied cement at N3,500 per bag – we never got it and we tried!

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.