A group of concerned residents in Onitsha, Anambra state, have vehemently condemned the country’s cement price increase.
They told our Correspondent in the commercial hub of the state on Thursday that the development would render most Nigerian families homeless if not checked.
They called for unbundling product production to make it affordable, adding that allowing only the Dangote company to produce and market cement and scaring away other investors adversely affect Nigerian families, particularly the poor.
They said it was condemnable to sell a bag of cement for N5,800 per bag in Anambra, where many families go to bed hungry.
Mr Jones Uzor, a dealer, said that the high cost of cement had driven him out of business.
“I started the business with small capital as a retiree a year ago, and now out of business over the high cost of procuring product and competing with the old traders in the market.
“Certainly, this will force landlords to increase their house rent beyond the reach of the common man.
“Cement sold at N5,800 in most parts of the Anambra state and sold far less at the rate of N300 in some other countries. This is wickedness taken too far.
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“The Federal Government should liberalize the cement business by licencing Nigerians capable of doing the business. Competition in business remains the only way to get the best quality of goods and services at a reduced, considerate price.
“Why would the Federal Government give a licence to produce Cement to only one man in a country that is over 250 million people, if not for the simple reason of oppressing them?
“The high cost of cement has greatly reduced the rate of development as those intending to build companies, industries, and new buildings cannot do so because of the exorbitant rate of cement. The economy is on a standstill. Nothing is moving.
“We therefore demand that the Federal Government reduce the price of a bag of cement to N1,000.
“The Federal Government should give licence to Nigerians who are ready to do the cement business while also creating an enabling environment for them to thrive,” Uzor lamented.
Mr Tochukwu Uche, a young trader who has planned to build a house in his home town, Ndiowu in Orumba North Local Government Area of Anambra state, said the high cost of cement is stopping him from achieving his ambition.
“I wanted to build a house in my town before marrying a wife to settle down like a responsible young man, but I am confused about achieving this important achievement. The worst is that cement continues to increase in price every day.
“The dealers will give reasons for selling at high-cost prices, particularly the increasing cost of dollars in the black market as if the product is imported into the country with foreign currency.
“President Bola Tinubu’s administration led by the federal government is also an incentive to the plight of Nigerians. We are over-suffering in Nigeria today.
“Only those whose relations are living abroad and making it in hard foreign currencies, and politicians stealing our money after voting them in power can afford to build houses and live healthy,” Uche said.
