The Nigerian Senate plans to investigate the recent surge in cement prices in Nigeria.
During plenary on Wednesday, Deputy Senate Leader, Lola Ashiru raised concerns about the rising cost of cement and other building materials.
According to him, the Senate Committee on Industries should examine the practices of cement manufacturers to determine the cause of the price hike.
He also urged the companies to follow fair market practices and avoid anti-competitive behaviour.
“This is because key building materials, particularly cement and iron rod prices are now sold at prohibitive rates, with cement and iron rod recently rising from N5,500 per bag in Jan. 2024 to about N14,000 and N8,500 to N17,000, respectively,” he said.
“Cognisant that affordable cement and other building materials are indispensable to national development, addressing the issue in time will benefit the construction industry.
“This is because it will ensure the progress of constituency projects and strengthen national security by providing jobs and stability and improve the livelihood of Nigerians generally,” he said.
OsunDailyNG had reported that cement prices surged to over N10,000 per 50kg in Abuja.
In a meeting between the government and the cement manufacturers, they agreed to peg the price of cement at N8,000 per 50kg.
This comes as the Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Ahmed Dangiwa, threatened to open the borders to enable cement importation if Nigeria’s cement manufacturers refuse to reduce the commodity’s price in the country.
Meanwhile, according to the National Bureau of Statistics, Nigeria’s inflation in January soared to 29.90 per cent.
