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 Adedapo Adesanya
Nigerian energy giant, Oando Plc, says it is reporting rising revenues as global crude buyers increasingly turn away from the volatile Middle East in search of safer supply sources.
According to the chief executive of Oando, Mr Wale Tinubu, the crisis around the Strait of Hormuz has damaged the Gulf region’s long-standing reputation as the world’s safest and most reliable oil-producing hub, leading to demand elsewhere.
Speaking in a recent interview on the sidelines of the Africa CEO Forum in Kigali, Rwanda, Mr Tinubu disclosed that Oando is already benefiting financially from the geopolitical tensions.
“We are certainly getting a windfall increase in our revenues,” Mr Tinubu said.
According to him, mounting security concerns around the Strait of Hormuz have forced buyers to reconsider their dependence on Middle Eastern crude. The waterway accounts for around 20 per cent of global crude and liquified natural gas (LNG) flows, mostly to Asian markets.
“The Middle Eastern premium you got from being a stable environment to produce hydrocarbons has been shattered,” he added.
The conflict is rapidly reshaping global energy trade flows, with African producers, particularly Nigeria, emerging as alternative suppliers at a time of heightened uncertainty in the Gulf.
Indonesia recently took in some Nigeria crude to cushion against the impact that disruptions are having on fuel supplies.
Mr Tinubu said Oando is rolling out a seven-well drilling campaign aiming to add 10,000 barrels per day by the end of the year.
Oando is also looking to raise up to $750 million to execute a 100-well onshore drilling campaign, aiming to triple its oil and gas output from 32,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day to nearly 100,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.
According to Mr Tinubu, global supply shocks have created highly favourable conditions for securing financing and expanding operations to meet supply gaps.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigerian billionaire investor, Mr Femi Otedola, has announced plans to invest $100 million in the Dangote Refinery, which plans to list later this year.
Mr Otedola disclosed this on Wednesday after leading a delegation of top executives from First HoldCo on a visit to the Dangote refinery.
“On a personal note, I’ve appealed to him (Aliko Dangote). I’ve been here with him 25 times, so my compensation is he’s going to allocate to me shares worth $100 million in the private placement,” the billionaire said.
Mr Otedola had previously denied that he had any stake or funded the construction of a 650,000 barrels per day facility.
The announcement marks his next big move after increasing his stake in First Holdco as well as buying a $10 million property in London.
Mr Dangote last year said the refinery could sell up to 10 per cent stake in the listing, which is valued at about $5 billion. It is aiming for a valuation of up to $50 billion for Dangote refinery.
The billionaire is planning to make the IPO a cross-border listing to enable the refinery to draw investments from domestic and international investors.
Mr Dangote, this week, said the IPO is designed to democratise wealth creation and give Africans direct access to participate in the continent’s industrial transformation.
On his part, Mr Dangote, president of the Dangote Group, says the company is targeting a private placement of about $2 billion for the refinery.
While the actual date for the IPO is yet to be announced, Mr Otedola’s early investment indicates value and could spur other high-net-worth individuals to show interest.
Mr Otedola, an ally of Mr Dangote, led top executives of First HoldCo on a tour of the refinery and the fertiliser plants in the Lekki free trade zone area.
The team also visited key project sites such as the jetty, a facility built by Dangote industries to receive large vessels.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange further chalked up 0.32 per cent on Wednesday, May 20, spurred by price appreciation in 11 Plc, and Central Securities and Clearing System (CSCS) Plc.
11 Plc, which used to be known as Mobil, added N22.11 to sell at N243.21 per unit compared with the previous day’s N221.10 per unit, and CSCS Plc gained N1.19 to trade at N71.81 per share versus Tuesday’s N70.62 per share.
The growth posted by the duo raised the market capitalisation by N8.04 billion to N2.495 trillion from N2.487 trillion, and lifted the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) by 13.44 points to 4,171.19 points from 4,157.75 points.
Yesterday, there were two price losers, led by Nipco Plc, which shed N22.60 to close at N287.00 per unit compared with the preceding day’s N309.60 per unit, and FrieslandCampina Wamco, which lost 84 Kobo to sell for N150.95 per share, in contrast to the N151.79 per share it was traded a day earlier.
The volume of trades recorded at midweek dipped by 99.9 per cent to 2.3 million units from 1.9 billion units, the value of transactions fell by 93.7 per cent to N334.2 million from the preceding session’s N5.3 billion, and the number of deals went down by 43.3 per cent to 34 deals from 60 deals.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, trailed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion sold for N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 60.9 million units exchanged for N4.1 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units valued at N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units traded for N415.7 million.
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