From Isaac Anumihe, Abuja
In a bid to stem the incessant rising cost of cement and other building materials, Federal Government, yesterday, revealed plans to summon the manufacturers of cement and other building materials with a view to finding solution to the menace.
The step will invariably solve the problem of unaffordable housing and housing deficit in Nigeria.
Addressing 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) 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, the Minister said that the move is aimed at understanding the challenges in the sector and seeking measures to mitigate the rising cost of building materials in the country and finding sustainable ways to address them.
Dangiwa 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 said.
Dangiwa assured the delegation of the commitment of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration to providing decent and affordable shelter and liveable communities to low- and medium-income earners, as well as the vulnerable in the society.
He said this also involves creating a conducive environment for the private sector to thrive, including through ensuring that building materials are affordable and accessible.
Recall that 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.
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, TU, and NECA to see the bank and the National Housing Fund (NHF) Scheme as their own that they must encourage and support the institution to do better towards delivering decent shelter to their members.
“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 per cent – 7 per cent versus the commercial rates of 18 per cent -24 per cent in commercial housing loans, to long tenors of 30 years versus 5-to-10-year commercial tenors, zero to maximum 10 per cent equity versus 30 per cent 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.
In a statement, the Minister noted that a key priority of Tinubu is the reform of all federal housing agencies under the supervision of the ministry, clearly 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 National Housing Fund (NHF) Act, 1992 and the FMBN Establishment Act, 1993.