Bring Down Cement Price, FG Told

A former Governor of Lagos State,  Alhaji Lateef Jakande, yesterday, urged the Federal Government to bring down the price of cement to make housing affordable to the masses.

Jakande made the call, while speaking with newsmen at the closing ceremony of the 11th Lagos Housing Fair.

He stressed that Nigeria was blessed with abundant raw materials for cement production.

“The cost of building materials, particularly cement, is unduly high. The price of cement should be brought down as we have abundant raw materials for cement production in the country,” he said.

Besides, Jakande called for more investments in housing delivery to ensure that all the citizens were able to have decent accommodation.

“I wish Nigeria will transform into a country where everybody has good accommodation,” said Jakande, who executed one of the most ambitious low-cost housing projects during his tenure as Lagos governor.

He commended the organisers of the Lagos Housing Fair and urged them not to relent in their efforts, as housing still remained a major problem facing Nigerians.

Mr Rufus Akinrolabu, whose company fabricated brick block-making machines, said that the fair would ginger the key players in housing sector to do more.

He stressed that the use of stabilised laterite to produce brick blocks for cheap and affordable houses would aid the fulfilment of housing delivery programmes.

Akinrolabu said that the utilisation of stabilised brick blocks in mass housing programmes by governments and private developers would help in reducing the cost of houses, while forcing down the price of cement.

Reports from Rivers State indicate that in some parts of Port Harcourt a bag of cement is sold for as high as N2,300. In Calabar, Cross River State,  the price of cement which rose in February has remained high,

After rising to a peak of N2,000 a bag in January, it dropped to N1,700 the following month.

But since then, our investigation revealed that the price had hovered between N1, 700 and N1,800 for a bag in some areas of the city.

At 8 Miles, a suburb of the metropolis, a bag of cement is sold for N1, 800 while it goes for N1,750 at Ikot Ushie area.

At the building materials section of Watt Market, the city’s main market, a bag of UNICEM brand goes for between N1, 700 and N1, 750 for those buying large quantities.

Our correspondent also reports that the Dangote and UNICEM brands are the usual products sold by dealers in the city.

A cement dealer at Watt market, Mr Ndubuisi Egbo, said the current price of the product was high but added that it was tolerable when compared to the January rate of N2,000 per bag.|

“I believe the price is alright now because it has continued to slide and the product is available, which is an indication that the price may drop further,’’ he said.

The Tide  recalls that in 2010, a bag of cement was sold for between N1,300 and N1, 400 throughout the year.

Mr Okon Ephraim, a bricklayer, said the price of the commodity had been stable for some months but regretted that the current price was still too high for the average resident.

“With this high price, it will be difficult for a poor man to build his own house,” he said.

Mr Emmanuel Akpan, a building contractor, told newsmen that the price was “ high and unbearable.”