News
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.”
News
I’m Committed To Community Dev – Ajinwo
News
RSG Tasks Rural Dwellers On RAAMP …As Sensitization Team Visits Akulga, Degema, Three Others

Rivers State Head of Service, Dr (Mrs) Inyingi Brown, has called on rural communities in the State to embrace the Rural Access and Agricultural marketing project (RAAMP) with a view to improving their living conditions.
This follows the ongoing sensitization campaign by the State Project Implementation Unit (SPIU) visits to Degema, Abonnema, Afam headquarters of Degema, Akuku Toru and Oyigbo Etche and Omuma local government areas respectively.
Dr Brown who was represented by the Deputy Director, Special Duties in her office, Mrs Dein Akpanah, said RAAMP was initiated by the Federal Government and World Bank to economically empower rural dwellers.s
She said the World Bank understands the plights of rural farmers and traders in the State, and therefore came up with the programme to address them.
According to her, RAAMP will improve the conditions of farmers, traders and fishermen, and therefore, behoves on every rural communities in the State to embrace the programme.
The Head of Service also said the programme would support the youths to be gainfully employed while bridges and roads will be built to link farms and fishing settlements.
Also speaking, the State project coordinator, Mr Joshua Kpakol, said the programme has the potential of creating millionaires among farmers and fishermen in the State.
Kpakol who was represented by Engr. Sam Tombari, said RAAMP would help farmers and fishermen to preserve their produce.
According to him, the project will build cold rooms and Silos for preservation of crops and fishes while access roads will also be created to link farmers and fishermen to the market.
He, however, warned them against any act that will lead to the suspension of the projects by the World Bank.
Kpakol particularly warned against acts such as kidnapping, marching ground, gender based violence and child labour, adding that such acts if they occur may lead to the cancellation of the project by the World Bank.
During the visit to Oyigbo local government area, Mr Joshua Kpakol, said the team was there to let them know how they will benefit from the Raamp.
The coordinator who was personally at Oyigbo said the World Bank introduced the project to check food insecurity in the State.
He said already 19 states in Nigeria are already benefitting from the project and called on them to embrace the project.
Meanwhile, stakeholders in the three local government areas have commended the World Bank for including their areas in the project.
They, however, complained over the incessant attacks by pirates on their waterways.
At Degema, King Agolia of Ke kingdom said land was a major problem in the kingdom.
King Agolia represented by High Chief Alpheus Damiebi said many indigenes of the kingdom are willing to go into farming but are handicapped by lack of land.
Also at Degema, the representative of the Omu Onyam Ekeim of Usokun Degema kingdom, Osoabo Isaac, said Degema has embraced the programme but needed more information on the implementation of the programme.
Similarly, while High Chief Precious Abadi advised that the project should not be narrowed to only crop farming, a community women leader, Mrs Orikinge Eremabo Otto, called for the construction of cold rooms in all fishing settlements in the area.
At Abonnema, Mr Diamond Kio linked the problem of the area to incessant piracy along waterways.
He also expressed fears over the possibility of the project being hijacked by politicians.
Also at Abonnema, a stakeholder, Ikiriko Kelvin, called on the World Bank to design an agricultural project that will suit the riverine environment, while at Oyigbo, HRH Eze Boniface Akawo expressed satisfaction with the project.
John Bibor
News
Senate Replaces Natasha As Committee Chairman

The political mudslinging between the Senate leadership and Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan continued yesterday as the Senate named Senator Aniekan Bassey as the new Chairman of the Committee on Diaspora and Non-Governmental Organisations.
Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, announced the appointment during yesterday’s plenary, confirming Bassey’s replacement of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, who is currently on suspension.
Akpoti-Uduaghan was reassigned to the Diaspora and NGOs Committee in February after she was removed as Chair of the Senate Committee on Local Content during a minor reshuffle.
Bassey is the senator representing Akwa Ibom North-East Senatorial District.
Although no reason was given for her removal yesterday, the change is believed to be connected to her unresolved suspension.
In May, Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court ordered her reinstatement and directed her to tender an apology to the Senate.
However, the Senate has insisted it has not received a certified true copy of the court judgment.
Akpoti-Uduaghan who represents Kogi Central, has yet to resume her legislative duties despite a recent court ruling that voided her suspension.
In a televised interview on Tuesday, Akpoti-Uduaghan said she was awaiting the Certified True Copy of the judgment before officially returning to plenary, citing legal advice and respect for institutional process.
Although the Federal High Court described her suspension as “excessive and unconstitutional”, a legal opinion dated July 5 and attributed to the Senate’s counsel, Paul Daudu (SAN), argued that the ruling lacked any binding directive to enforce her reinstatement.
Akpoti-Uduaghan, one of only three female senators in the current assembly, said the continued delay in allowing her return was not only a denial of her mandate but also a blow to democratic representation.
“By keeping me out of the chambers, the Senate is not just silencing Kogi Central, it’s denying Nigerian women and children representation. We are only three female senators now, down from eight,” she said.
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