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By Maduka Nweke, [email protected]
Worried by the skyrocketing prices of building materials and the general hardship in the country, the Building Collapse Prevention Guild (BCPG) has sent a save our soul (SOS) letter to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to scuttle plans by cement manufacturers to further hike the price.
In a letter signed by Mr. Sulaimon Yusuf and Mrs. Adenike Ayanda, the President and Secretary of the Guild, they said rumours were rife that cement manufacturers were planning an upward review of cement prices in January.
According to them, should the cement manufacturers succeed with their plans, the price of ready-mix concrete will also be increased while the cost of in-situ production of concrete will rise significantly. Such an increment, they said, would worsen the economic situation in the country. “Cement is an essential ingredient in the production of buildings. Frequency in the increase of its price has impacted negatively in the nation’s housing sector. Experience has shown that high prices of cement tend to encourage reduction in the quality of building production. The consequence of this is the emergence of weak buildings that increases the risk of building collapse.
“Prioritising safety in the Nigerian built environment and in the general interest of the public, the BCPG passionately appeals to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to invite cement manufacturers for an urgent discussion in order to forestall the impending increase in the price of cement. The president needs to interrogate the current N5, 700 market price of a 50kg bag of cement despite the N3, 500 price of the product recently promised by one of the cement manufacturers.
“Any further increase in the price of cement will be a direct threat to the ‘Renewed Hope’ Housing Programme of the Federal Government.
Completion of ongoing building projects might be jeopardised by the impending hike in the price of cement. Buildings abandoned during the process of construction aggravate the risk of building collapse. With the dwindling purchasing power, new buildings might lack patronage and occupants due to high rental value.
Efforts made by President Tinubu while he was Governor of Lagos State at attenuating building collapse syndrome were well documented in the BCPG records. As at the time he was crowned as the Governor of Lagos State in 2007, the market price of cement was N1, 300.
“We hereby challenge the president not to relent in his past efforts at tackling the incessant collapse of buildings. His wealth of experience gained from Lagos on solutions to building collapse should be brought to bear on the national level in order to save Nigeria from the unenviable position of a nation that records frequent incidence of building collapse in the whole world.
It is high time our president paid serious attention to resolving the challenges of building collapse. Frequent increase in the price of cement is one of these challenges,” they posited.
