Price hike: Reps give Dangote, Lafarge, BUA, others 14-day ultimatum

By Christiana Ekpa

The House of Representatives on Tuesday issued a 14-day ultimatum to Dangote Cement, Bua Cement, Lafarge Cement, Asaka Cement and Eagle Cement to appear before its joint committee and make their submissions on the arbitrary increment of Cement prices in Nigeria.

The Chairman House Committee on Solid Minerals, Rep. Gaza Gbefwi, gave the summon at a public hearing to Investigate the Arbitrary Increase in the price of cement in Nigeria by cement manufacturers, organised by House Joint Committees on Commerce, Industry, Special Duties and Solid Minerals on Tuesday in Abuja.

Recall that on March 13, 2024, the House moved a motion on the “arbitrary increase in the price of cement by cement manufacturers in Nigeria”, and constituted the Joint Committee to investigate and report back.

But the five cement manufacturers in Nigeria namely Dangote Cement, Bua Cement, Lafarge Cement, Asaka Cement and Eagle Cement failed to appear and did not send any representative to make their submissions.

Speaking about the non appearance of all the cement manufacturers, Rep. Gbefwi said th House and National Assembly is not in receipt of any court order restraining it from inviting anybody for an investigation.

He said: “We are trying to see to the development of our country. Just as it was emphasized in the opening remarks cement to building is what air is to each and every human being. Let me sound this warning the House of Representatives and the National Assembly is not in receipt of any court order restraining us from inviting anybody.

“And to this end, in the human nature of the House, because we owe them a duty of care, because they are equally Nigerians we are giving them 14 days in which to make their submissions if not, as we have sworn to uphold the constitution we will use everything within our powers to make sure that Nigerians, number one: are not taken for granted and number two are not exploited. We will not sit back while some companies everyday declare billions in naira and dollars and our people can barely afford to get a decent roof over their heads.

“We saw in Lagos where you have Nigerians under the bridge and paying rent. Why? If this products were available, I do not believe we’d gave to go to those lengths. Moreover, that God gas blessed us with this resources in abundance.

So, as it is the resolution of this joint committee, we are giving them 14 days from now, and not 14 working days, 14 effective days to make sure that they make their submissions and appear before this House”.

In his opening remarks, the Deputy Speaker of the House, Rep. Benjamin Kalu, assured that the House is actively working to establish appropriate legislation that promotes and encourages industrialization, as well as supports small and medium enterprises.

Kalu explained that the hearing is as a result of the deep concern of the House for the people it represents and the need for transparent engagement with key stakeholders in the cement industry, particularly the manufacturers.

According to Kalu, the persistent increase in cement prices has had detrimental effect on the ‘built environment’ and Nigeria at large, which is evident in a huge housing deficit presently in Nigeria.

He said: “We are committed to collaborating with both cement manufacturers and end-users, believing this is the most effective way to improve the quality of life and standard of living for our citizens. We are also dedicated to enacting laws that prevent a recurrence of the factors that led to the current situation.

“Our goal is to inform Nigerians about the industry’s current state and collaboratively find solutions to navigate the challenges. The persistent rise in cement prices has had a detrimental impact not only on the built environment but also on the entire economy. Cement is a fundamental component used in construction projects like bridges, dams, houses, waterworks, and road infrastructure. This makes addressing this issue paramount.

“According to a study by researchers at the African Development Bank in the ‘Housing Market Dynamics in Africa’ book, there is a housing deficit of up to 16.9 million units. According to the World Bank,

Lagos, Ibadan, Kano, and Abuja, have a 20 percent rise in housing needs yearly. The current total output in the formal housing sector is estimated at no more than 100,000 units”.

Deputy Speaker asserted that bridging this gap requires affordable and accessible cement prices for both the government and the private sector.

“While factors like exchange rates have contributed to the price increases across various commodities, it is encouraging to see the positive results of the “renewed hope” administration’s policies under the leadership of His Excellency, Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Notably, the Naira has shown remarkable strength against the dollar in recent weeks, and Fitch Ratings, a global credit rating agency, recently revised Nigeria’s credit outlook to positive from stable”, he added.

Earlier in his welcome address, Rep.  Gbefwi said that Nigeria has high housing deficit of about 3 million houses and a huge  infrastructural deficit.