Sets up panel to review cost, verify manufacturers’ claims 
Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Ahmed Dangiwa, has stated that amid economic hardship, an increase in essential building materials will mean a crisis in delivering houses in the country.

At the meeting with cement and building materials manufacturers in Abuja, yesterday, Dangiwa said in the past three months, the country had witnessed a steady, recurring and alarming increase in the prices of building materials.

“This situation has worsened in the past two weeks, with the price of a bag of cement in some parts of the country reported to be as high as N10,000 from the average cost of N5,500 months ago, this represents about a 100 per cent rise. We have also seen near-record high escalations in the prices of other items such as iron rods and other fittings.

“So, this is a crisis for housing delivery. An increase in the cost of building houses means that more and more Nigerians can no longer afford to own houses and provide decent shelter for themselves and their loved ones,” he added.

According to Dangiwa, part of the efforts is to look at the facts on the ground, discuss the genuine challenges, analyse them and seek ways to address the persistent challenge of rising prices in the construction industry and to ensure the delivery of affordable housing for all Nigerians.

MEANWHILE, government has set up a technical committee to review the cost of cement and verify manufacturers’ claims.

The minister further directed the Permanent Secretary, Dr Marcus Ogunbiyi, to get the committee working quickly and come up with recommendations based on the issues raised by manufacturers, so they could be taken to the Federal Executive Council (FEC).

Government said cement manufacturers were not doing enough to stem the rising cost of cement in the country, warning that it would not accept a situation where the price of essential building materials like cement continue to rise uncontrollably.

Dangiwa charged the manufacturers to be honest in their dealings and desist from making life difficult for citizens.

“We know that some of the key components of producing building materials, especially cement, are locally sourced, so the recurring disproportionate increase in the
price of cement is unacceptable and unreasonable. Key input materials such as limestone, clay, silica sand and gypsum within our borders should not be dollar-rated.

“You cannot continue to give excuses and blame it on dollars all the time. The worst part is, other building materials manufacturers take a cue from cement manufacturers, and once they see that you increase your price, they do the same as well. Recently, this is happening almost every week, and it has to stop,” he said.