NIOB, HDAN kick against rising price of cement

Housing professionals and advocates under the auspices of the   Nigerian Institute of Building (NIOB) and Housing Development Advocate of Nigeria (HDAN) have kicked against the recent increase in the price of a 50- kilogram bag of cement.

In a separate statement by the two groups, they pointed out that increase in the price of cement to N4,000 or N3,500 from  the previous N2,650 signified bad omen for the housing/construction sector and economy.

According to NIOB’s President, Mr  Kunle Awobodu,  whatever the underlying reasons  being given for the hike in cement’s price, the  institute  “is actuated by altruism to bring the attendant or unintended consequences to the limelight so that stakeholders will  appreciate and respond to the emergency that the nation is confronted with.”

He pointed out that the astronomical rise in the price of cement coupled with the low purchasing power of Nigerians, would promote temptations for compromise of quality in construction work.

He tasked government on the need to step in quickly and save the nation from imminent danger of substandard building construction.

Awobodu urged cement manufacturers to take advantage of population of the country to crash costs while government should further address transportation and energy concerns.

“If these price increases and other macroeconomic variables are not addressed, the vision of housing many homeless Nigerians and the nation›s infrastructural revival will remain a mirage,” the NIOB president warned.

According to him, the present cement’s price increase would exacerbate an already volatile and precarious situation, adding that it would increase the need for more vigilance and policing of the construction processes.

Festus Adebayo-led HDAN believes that the increase in retail price of 50kg bag of cement from N2,700  to N4,000 is absurd, adding that it has not been  in-tandem with government’s programme of providing decent and affordable housing for the masses.

Adebayo said the hike in price of cement remained a threat to affordable housing delivery, especially in a country with about 22 million housing deficit. He, therefore, called on the Federal Government as a matter of urgency to look into the issue.

Adebayo said it was important for government to address the situation, so as not to deprive low income earners the opportunity of affordable and decent housing.

The HDAN’s executive director also stated that there was need for government to support the recent plan to build 300,000 low cost housing with immediate intervention to ease the load of delivery those houses across the country.

He said: “For houses to be very cheap and affordable, the components in building must also be cheap. But with the current increase in the price of cement in Nigeria, where lies the hope of the low income earners?”

Adebayo stressed that unless the government arrest the trend, the entire construction industry would be negatively impacted.

“It must be known that the building and construction industry remains the best hope to jump start an economy which has been negatively impacted by Covid-19 pandemic,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Group Managing Director/ Chief Executive Office, Odu’a Investment, Mr.Adewale Raji, has blamed high cost of power/energy, over- dependence on importation and unstable forex   for the rising cost of cement and other building materials in the country.

According to him, the cost other than limestone, which is about 65 per cent of cement component, was being imported, considering the current exchange rate of dollar to naira.

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