The House of representatives resolved to invite cement manufacturers alongside the Ministers of Solid Minerals Development and Trade and Investment to brief the House on reasons for the hike in the cost of cement and efforts being made to bring down the price.
This followed a motion notice on Wednesday sponsored by Gaza Jonathan Gbefwi (SDP, Nasarawa) and Ademorin Kuye (APC, Lagos).
Moving the motion, Gbefwi said manufacturers of cement have raised the price of their products by up to 50%, resulting to sharp increase price in building blocks, the cost of building, and consequently, the price of rent across the country
According to him, the raw materials for the production of cement, which include lime, silica, alumina, iron oxide, and gypsum are all mined locally and not affected by exchange rate volatility as cost of production has not changed drastically since last year
The house alleged that the increase is a direct sabotage of President Bola Tinubu’s administration’s effort to bring comfort to the masses and should be resolved immediately, saying what the cement manufacturers are doing was corruption.
Sada Soli a representative of APC, Katsina cautioned against any irrational action against the manufacturers, saying Nigeria was operating a free market economy, but he was immediately shouted down.