The Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Arc. Musa Dangiwa, has expressed concern about the continuous increase in the cost of cement and other building materials in the country.
The minister shared this sentiment during a visit to his office in Abuja by a delegation consisting of members from the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN), Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC), and the Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA), as stated on the ministry’s website.
Dangiwa questioned why the price of cement keeps rising disproportionately, especially considering that cement producers in the country source all their raw materials locally.
“It is disheartening to see how much Nigerians have to pay for essential building commodities like cement, with the prices rising almost on a daily basis. I don’t understand the reason for this increase, and it is not acceptable.
“I am going to be meeting with these manufacturers soon, so that they can explain to Nigerians their reasons for such incessant hikes. I know that the cement producers source their raw materials in Nigeria, the limestone, clay, silica sand, gypsum, iron ore, and the rest. These minerals abound in Nigeria and these manufacturers get them here, so there is no justification to try and blame it all on the rise of dollar”, he said.
The statement mentioned that the minister intends to meet with cement and building material manufacturers to address the rising prices of these products and promote the objective of making housing more affordable in Nigeria. This is a key priority emphasized by President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
