Customers Berate Cement Dealers Over Adultration

It is no longer a secret, as it has been revealed that some building materials merchants, especially in Port Harcourt and its environs allegedly re-bag cement products  to enhance their profit earnings.

Making  this  known while speaking to The Tide  in Port Harcourt, a building materials merchant, Nnamdi Kamalu who also is the chief executive of a block moulding industry, in Port Harcourt alleged that many dealers have resorted to re-bagging cement, so as to make more profit.

According to him “when there is scarcity of cement, especially when the demand is very high, dealers resort to re-bagging, where an additional bag of cement is created out of every ten bags of cement”.

He said  that there is a special machine for re-sealing of cement bags which they have,  as well as people they pay to get this done, and after which, they display them for sales, pointing out that a movie in the business will think that all the bags of cement are the same.

Kamalu, who runs a chain of building materials outfits, and owners of an estate along the East-West Road, further posited that the worst adulterated cement  by dealers is the Eagle Cement which he said “because of its high demand by the public  is being mixed up with several other cement products  to make up a full bag of Eagle Cement.

According to him, “The Eagle Cement is 50 kg from the factory, which is sound bag, but some of these dealers have made it appear as if the factory produces a re-filled bag”, which he said is not true.

He said due to high demand of the Eagle Cement among others, that some buyers do not insist on getting the full bag, and advised  the public to always insist on the factory sealed bag of cement before they pay for the cement, so as to enjoy good value for their money.

While enjoining dealers that are involved in the re-bagging to desist from such act, he also advised the public to be more watchful of what they buy.

Corlins Walter