Enugu block, concrete producers decry continuous hike in cement price

Enugu State chapter of the Block and Concrete Producers Association has decried the continuous increase in the price of cement and other materials used for production.
“The challenge we have is the cost of cement and even sand. Everything is now costly,” Paulinus Ukaegbu, the state president of the association, said in an interview on Saturday.
He lamented that the continuous rise of cement prices was negatively affecting the production output of their members and their income.
“Before one can sell at least 3,000 to 5,000 blocks in a month but now, before you sell 1,000 blocks, it is very difficult.
“The cost of cement in Enugu as of now is N4,550. Some people are selling for N5,000,” he said.
He urged the federal government to intervene in the situation, especially by granting more licenses to produce cement.
Mr Ukaegu said this would bring down cement prices in the market because the monopoly being enjoyed by the few current producers would be broken.
While admitting that the current cement brands were good products, Mr Ukaegbu accused them of increasing the prices of their cement without considering its effect on the association and builders.
“We always use Dangote cement, mainly Block Master. If we do not see Block Master, we use 3X.
“During the time of Ibeto Cement, the price was down. After the company stopped cement business, the price of every type of cement went up,” he noted.
(NAN)
More from Peoples Gazette

Economy
Buhari regime will continue to borrow without subsidy removal: Femi Adesina
“You know how much could have been saved if the subsidy was removed and how it could have been diverted to other areas and spheres of national life.

Sport
NNL: Insurance FC beat Giant Brillars to maintain second position
Insurance FC beat their Enugu-based visitors 2-1 to move to 21 points, one point behind table-toppers Gateway United.

Sport
Race to Nigeria Masters: David Ali emerges winner of 13th leg in Owerri
In second position was golfer Uchenna Anoruo, whose game ended with a cumulative of 306 with +18 after 72 holes.

States
FRSC battles 48-hour Kogi gridlock after multiple trucks breakdown
The gridlock was along the Obajana portion of the Kabba-Lokoja-Abuja Road that hosts Dangote Cement factory.

Politics
PDP constitutes Osun caretaker committee
The committee would manage the party’s affairs for a period not exceeding 90 days or till the election of a new state executive.

Faith
Ramadan: Kebbi gifts N580 million foodstuffs through AGF Malami’s NGO
The distribution is being handled by an NGO, Khadimiyya for Justice and Development, founded by Nigeria’s Attorney General, Abubakar Malami.

Politics
Labaran Maku eyes Nasarawa state’s governorship after return to PDP
Mr Maku, who until his return, was the National Secretary of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), said he was sorry for leaving the PDP in 2015.