The Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Ahmed Dangiwa on Thursday revealed that he plans to meet with manufacturers of cement and other building materials in the country, in a bid to stem the skyrocketing prices nationwide.
The move, he said, is aimed at better understanding the challenges in the sector, sharpening measures to mitigate the rising cost of building materials in the country and finding sustainable ways to address them.
Dangiwa spoke during a courtesy call by a delegation of the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN), Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC), and the Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA).
The visitors were in his Abuja office to discuss the progress of the collaboration between the FMBN and the labour centres, especially as it concerns the National Affordable Housing Delivery Programme for Nigerian Workers (NAHDEP), which he initiated during his time as managing director of the FMBN.
A statement by Dangiwa’s Special Adviser on Media, Mark Chieshe, said the minister queried the recurring disproportionate increase in the price of cement in particular, especially considering that cement producers in the country source virtually all their raw materials locally.
“It is disheartening to see how much Nigerians have to pay for essential building commodities like cement, with the prices rising almost on a daily basis. I don’t understand the reason for this increase, and it is not acceptable.
“I am going to be meeting with these manufacturers soon, so that they can explain to Nigerians their reasons for such incessant hikes. I know that the cement producers source their raw materials in Nigeria.
“The limestone, clay, silica sand, gypsum, iron ore, and the rest. These minerals abound in Nigeria and these manufacturers get them here, so there is no justification to try and blame it all on the rise of dollar,” he argued.
He assured the delegation of the commitment of the President Bola Tinubu administration to provide decent and affordable shelter and liveable communities to low- and medium-income earners, as well as the vulnerable in society.
The minister said this also involves creating a conducive environment for the private sector to thrive, including through ensuring building materials are affordable and accessible.
The ministry in January inaugurated the building materials reform task team as part of efforts to develop the building materials industry through the creation of building materials manufacturing hubs in each of the six geopolitical zones of the country.
The minister said while the hubs are yet to come on stream, there is a need to continue to interface with players in the industry such as building materials manufacturers in a bid to promote affordability.
Speaking on the partnership between the FMBN and Organised Labour, Dangiwa emphasised the need for the FMBN to reform and innovate its operations, calling on the NLC, TUC, and NECA to see the bank and the National Housing Fund (NHF) scheme as their own.
“The truth is that despite FMBN’s inadequacies, which we are working to address, there is no other home ownership platform that can provide housing to the segment of Nigerians whom you represent at the terms and conditions that the FMBN provides.
“From the single-digit interest rate on loans ranging from 6–7 percent versus the commercial rates of 18-24 percent in commercial housing loans, to long tenors of 30-years versus 5-to-10-year commercial tenors, zero to maximum 10 percent equity versus 30 percent equity for commercial loans, FMBN is an institution that requires the support of all stakeholders so that it works. There is absolutely no alternative, “he said.
He noted that a key priority of the president is the reform of all federal housing agencies under the supervision of the ministry, demonstrated by the inauguration of the Housing Institutions Reform Task Team under the Chairmanship of Mr. Adedeji Adesemoye with representatives from other stakeholders.
The team, he said, will review and facilitate necessary legislative amendments of relevant housing industry laws, including those of the NHF Act, 1992 and the FMBN Establishment Act, 1993.
Emmanuel Addeh
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