Economy
Cement Manufacturers Subjecting Nigerians to Untold Hardship—Reps
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The House of Representatives has accused cement manufacturers in the country of subjecting Nigerians to untold hardship over their arbitrary increase in the price of the product.
The lower legislative chamber has, therefore, resolved to look into their pricing mechanism, summoning the major cement makers in the country for an explanation.
The cement firms in Nigeria were summoned on Wednesday by the green chamber of the National Assembly after the adoption of a motion moved by Gaza Gbefwi and Ademorin Kuye on “arbitrary increase in the price of cement by manufacturers of cement in Nigeria.”
They are to appear before the Committees on Solid Minerals Development, Commerce, Industry and Special Duties, which is to report back to the House after four weeks for further legislative actions.
While addressing his colleagues yesterday, Mr Gbefwi lamented that the rise in the price of cement in the country has led to an increase in rents due to a rise in the cost of building, giving many citizens sleepless nights.
He warned that if urgent action is not taken, things may get out of hand, as the price of cement has skyrocketed by over 100 per cent within three months.
Business Post reports that the price of a 50kg bag of cement, which used to sell between N4,800 and N5,200 in December 2023 and January 2024 jumped to N12,000 in February 2024, but currently sells between N9,500 and N10,500.
Mr Gbefwi said it was worrisome that while raw materials for the manufacturing of cement, including lime, silica, alumina, iron oxide, and gypsum, are all sourced locally and could not have been affected by the exchange rate crisis, the price of the product has been on the rise weekly.
The lawmaker accused cement producers of inflicting hardship on Nigerians by “capitalising on exchange rate volatility to arbitrarily increase the price of the product, whose cost of production has not changed significantly since last year.”
However, the Chairman of the House Committee on Defence, Mr Babajimi Benson, in defence of cement companies, blamed the rising cost of production for the increase in prices, noting that the price of a product is determined by some factors.
“It is either the frequent increment is caused by production cost or something else. Let us invite the manufacturers to meet with the relevant committee,” he submitted.
This argument was backed by the Chairman of the House Committee on Water Resources, Mr Sada Soli, who told his colleagues to be cautious.
“Let us understand the place of cost of production. These people bought these companies and turned them around. In most cases, they provide their power.
“Let us be complacent when we are talking about issues concerning the national economy. Let us support these people because they can withdraw their investments,” he said.
But the Chairman of the House Committee on Navy, Mr Yusuf Gagdi, disagreed, saying Nigerians should not be paying more for the product than their neighbours.
“Nigeria cements are a big market for Niger Republic, Cameroon and other neighbouring countries. Why should Nigerians continue to suffer from incessant increases in the price of cement?
“We have to rise and defend the common man. I think we must invite the manufacturers to tell this house what is going on because we can’t continue like this,” he said.
In his contribution, the Deputy Minority Whip, Mr George Ozodinobi, suggested the importation of cement to crash the price of the product.
“Let us open the floodgate of importation of cement into the country. This will bring down the price of the product.
“When the man from Nnewi and Chairman of the Ibeto Group, Cletus Ibeto, was allowed to bring in cement into the country, the price came down drastically but he was frustrated out of the system,” he said.
Recall that a few weeks ago, after a meeting with the Minister of Works, Mr Dave Umahi, cement producers agreed to bring down the price of the product to about N7,000.
The major cement manufacturers in the country include Dangote Cement, BUA Cement, Lafarge Africa, and Purechem, among others.
By Dipo Olowookere
About 0.04 per cent was recovered on Friday from the loss recorded by the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) the previous due to profit-taking.
Yesterday, investors were in the market with renewed vigour, mopping up stocks trading at relatively cheaper prices.
According to data, the insurance counter gained 0.41 per cent, the banking sector appreciated by 0.38 per cent, and the consumer goods index grew by 0.14 per cent.
The gains achieved by these three sectors were enough to lift Customs Street at the close of business despite the 0.26 per cent decline printed by the industrial goods segment and the 0.14 per cent loss suffered by the energy industry. The commodity counter was flat during the session.
A total of 43 equities gained weight on the last trading day of this week, while 26 equities shed weight, indicating a positive market breadth index and strong investor sentiment.
Red Star Express increased its share price by 10.00 per cent to N13.20, NCR Nigeria grew by 9.97 per cent to N128.55, SCOA Nigeria inflated by 9.96 per cent to N14.90, Omatek appreciated by 9.94 per cent to N1.77, and Deap Capital expanded by 9.85 per cent to N4.46.
On the flip side, McNichols decreased by 8.81 per cent to N6.00, Legend Internet crumbled by 7.56 per cent to N5.50, Cornerstone Insurance crashed by 6.48 per cent to N6.35, C&I Leasing contracted by 6.29 per cent to N8.20, and Austin Laz slipped by 5.78 per cent to N3.75.
Yesterday, 539.9 million shares valued at N16.7 billion were transacted in 48,023 deals versus the 1.0 billion shares worth N31.6 billion executed in 51,227 deals in the preceding day, implying a shrink in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 46.01 per cent, 47.15 per cent, and 6.26 per cent apiece.
Zenith Bank was the most active for the day with 54.6 million stocks sold for N3.8 billion, Jaiz Bank traded 41.5 million units worth N359.4 million, Secure Electronic Technology transacted 37.7 million units valued at N39.2 million, Access Holdings exchanged 30.5 million units for N699.2 million, and Lasaco Assurance transacted 27.2 million units worth N68.3 million.
When the market closed for the day, the All-Share Index (ASI) went up by 72.21 points to 166,129.50 points from 166,057.29 points and the market capitalisation gained N31 billion to N106.354 trillion from N106.323 trillion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
It was a positive ending for the Naira this week after it further appreciated against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Friday, January 16 by N1.33 or 0.09 per cent to sell for N1,417.95/$1 compared with the previous day’s N1,419.28/$1.
The domestic currency also gained N2.41 against the Euro in the official market to close at N1,647.51/€1 versus the preceding session’s closing price of N1,649.92/€1, however, it suffered a N7.97 loss against the Pound Sterling in the same market window to trade at N1,901.32/£1, in contrast to Thursday’s closing price of N1,893.35/£1.
In the same vein, the Nigerian Naira depleted against the Dollar at the GTBank FX counter by N2 to quote at N1,427/$1 compared with the previous day’s N1,425/$1, but strengthened against the greenback at the black market yesterday by N5 to settle at N1,485/$1 versus the N1,490/$1 it was exchanged a day earlier.
Improved supply conditions helped keep the market within range as exporters’ and importers’ inflows in addition to non-bank corporate supply enhanced liquidity as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) made no visible intervention.
Stronger external inflows from foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) and improving current account dynamics, continue to align with structural support in the wider economy.
Nigeria has seen projections of a stronger economic or gross domestic product (GDP) growth and lower inflation in 2026, with these forecasts citing improved macroeconomic fundamentals and reform impacts.
As for the cryptocurrency market, it was mixed following selloff in precious metals and lower US stocks appeared to be denting crypto sentiment.
Gold and silver, both of which also enjoyed big rallies earlier this week, tumbled 1.2 per cent and 5 per cent, respectively while key US stock indexes — the Nasdaq, S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average — all reversed from early gains to modest losses in Friday trade.
Dogecoin (DOGE) shrank by 2.2 per cent to $0.1370, Ripple (XRP) slipped by 0.8 per cent to $2.05, Ethereum (ETH) went down by 0.7 per cent to $3,228.56, and Bitcoin (BTC) slumped by 0.6 per cent to $95,086.80.
Conversely, Litecoin (LTC) appreciated by 3.2 per cent to $74.48, Solana (SOL) rose by 0.4 per cent to $143.70, Cardano (ADA) jumped by 0.2 per cent to $0.3942, and Binance Coin (BNB) increased by 0.1 per cent to $935.88, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Oil prices settled higher amid lingering worries about a possible US military strike against Iran, a decision that may still occur over the weekend.
Brent crude settled at $64.13 a barrel after going up by 37 cents or 0.58 per cent and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude finished at $59.44 a barrel after it gained 25 cents or 0.42 per cent.
The US Navy’s aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln was expected to arrive in the Persian Gulf next week after operating in the South China Sea.
Market analysts noted that it doesn’t seem likely anything will happen soon. However, the weekends have become the perfect time for actions so as not offset the markets.
The market had risen after protests flared up in Iran and US President Donald Trump signalled the potential for military strikes, but lost over 4 per cent on Thursday as the American president said Iran’s crackdown on the protesters was easing, allaying concerns of possible military action that could disrupt oil supplies.
Iran produces approximately 3.2 million barrels per day, accounting for roughly 4 per cent of global crude production, so it was not a coincidence that markets rallied sharply through Tuesday and Wednesday as President Trump canceled meetings with Iranian officials and posted that “help is on its way” to Iranian protesters, raising fears of potential US military strikes that sent prices surging toward multi-month highs.
Weighing against those fears are potential supply increases from Venezuela.
The Trump administration is exploring plans to swap heavy Venezuelan crude for US medium sour barrels that can actually go straight into Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) caverns, since not all all oil belongs in the reserve.
According to Reuters, the Department of Energy is considering moving Venezuelan heavy crude into commercial storage at the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port, while US producers deliver medium sour crude into the SPR in exchange.
Analysts expect higher supply this year, potentially creating a ceiling for the geopolitical risk premium on prices.
Some investors covered short positions ahead of the three-day Martin Luther King holiday weekend in the US.
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