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For a fact, cement inflation is accelerating Nigeria’s housing deficit and that is because it is a major component of building any infrastructure.
Disturbingly, the price of this essential commodity is sky-high, with no hope an imminent fall.
With its price currently oscillating between N11,000 and N13,500 per 50kg bag nationwide, builders and homeowners are lamenting endlessly.
Also in tears are renters.
For many Nigerians, discussions about renting or buying a home have become increasingly difficult as housing costs continue to soar. The scarcity and rising price of cement have emerged as major drivers of the crisis, significantly increasing construction costs and limiting the supply of affordable homes. As a result, the dream of homeownership is slipping further out of reach for low-income earners, while many homeowners are forced to postpone critical repairs and renovations.
The ripple effects are also being felt in the rental market, where rising development costs have pushed rents higher, forcing many vulnerable households into overcrowded and substandard living conditions.
Cement distributors in Lagos have stated that prices of the commodity may rise even higher than the levels seen in early 2025.
But the greatest problem, experts noted, is that during the dry season when demand increases people, fail to see that urgent action from the government is needed to forestall arbitrary increase.
A review of prices across major cement distribution outlets reveals that prices were stable in the past seven months following intervention from the federal government and the National Assembly.
But the stability could not be sustained because the US-Israel-Iran war has affected the price of all commodities.
This will, therefore, continue to increase the price of the commodity until there is a solution to the war that has affected all imports.
Homeownership a pipe dream
A lot of people are already leaving the city because the cost of living is already weighing much on them. Although this scenario is in the interest of the government that always wanted to reduce urban migration without doing anything to make the so called rural areas conducive for habitation.
It plays a dual role because without the poor dwellers, the rich cannot be comfortable even in the cities.
Building a modest three-bedroom bungalow in Nigeria now costs between N15 million and N25 million, driven largely by the escalating price of cement, which remains the core binding material in construction. Industry observers say these rising costs have placed homeownership beyond the reach of many civil servants and traders whose savings can no longer keep pace with inflation in the building sector. As a result, a growing number of Nigerians are reportedly abandoning uncompleted building projects due to financial strain.
Calls for government intervention to reduce cement prices
A cement dealer along Festac Link Road in Amuwo-Odofin, Mr. Anthony Udofia, said government intervention is necessary to bring down cement prices and ease pressure on the housing sector.
He argued that since fuel plays a significant role in cement production, reducing fuel costs could help lower overall production expenses. He also called for stronger border surveillance to curb smuggling and improve revenue protection.
“Government has a lot of actions to take to bring the price of cement down,” he said. “Since fuel has an impact in the manufacture of cement, the government can crash the price of fuel and increase the number of customs officers to keep surveillance on all our borders.”
Udofia criticised what he described as inefficiencies in border enforcement, questioning the practice of customs officers operating away from their designated posts.
“Why should Custom officers leave our borders and come to the hinterland to chase those they allowed to pass their checking points? We are undoing ourselves in this country,” he said.
He further argued that stricter border control would reduce smuggling and improve domestic fuel availability, helping stabilise cement prices.
“If these officers man their posts very well, the fear that smugglers will be taking the fuel to neighbouring countries will be minimized,” he added.
Udofia also urged government to declare a state of emergency in the housing sector, warning that worsening economic conditions are increasing social vulnerability.
“Government should declare an emergency in real estate to give shelter to indigenes otherwise the struggle to make ends meet lures many of nowadays youths into crime,” he said. “When they go into crime, we use more money that would have rehabilitated them to chase criminals.”
Housing pressure shifting from ownership to rent burden
Udofia noted a major shift in Nigeria’s housing reality, where citizens who once aspired to own homes now struggle even to pay rent.
“In the recent past, people struggled to buy land and build their own houses but today, people struggle to meet rent money,” he said.
He explained that rental costs have risen sharply compared to what they were a few years ago.
“The amount with which to pay for one year rent was enough to build two bedroom flats about five years back,” he said.
He added that rising cement costs have made construction increasingly unrealistic for low-income earners.
“When you consider the cost of a bag of cement and the number of bags you would need to build even two rooms, you will be frightened to continue in that project because that one has become an unreachable height,” he said.
According to him, the situation is worsening poverty and pushing some vulnerable individuals toward crime as a means of survival.
“This makes those who are hit by abject poverty to do anything whatsoever including crimes to get themselves shelter over their heads,” he said.
He also noted that landlords and developers are passing rising construction costs directly to tenants, driving rent inflation in major cities.
“When the cost to build or maintain houses jumps, developers and landlords pass that burden directly to the end-users,” he said. “This has caused urban house rents (especially in cities like Lagos and Abuja) to skyrocket by over 400 percent.”
Udofia added that many low-income earners now spend a disproportionate share of their income on rent, while others are unable to afford housing at all.
Concerns over rising use of substandard building materials
A retired civil engineer with Julius Berger, Mrs. Eugenia Efelona, warned that the rising cost of cement is encouraging unsafe building practices among low-income builders.
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She said many aspiring homeowners are compromising structural integrity in order to cut costs.
“Most of them who are ambitious of having their own houses resort to using inferior materials to build their houses,” she said.
According to her, standard construction ratios are often ignored due to financial pressure.
“Many times a formula that requires up to 12 bags of cement will now have six bags of cement making sand concentration proportionately higher,” she said.
She warned that such compromises significantly increase the risk of building collapse.
“This at times helps in causing building collapse and that becomes pennywise pound foolish but governments do not care,” she said.
Efelona added that the high cost of reinforced materials has also contributed to widespread use of substandard alternatives.
“Because the cost of concrete blocks and reinforced foundations has soared, many low-income builders resort to cheaper, substandard materials with labels meant to come from abroad,” she said.
She listed practices such as poor-quality sand usage, omission of steel reinforcement, and use of unsuitable materials for structural extensions.
“This includes but not limited to using poorer grades of sand to mold blocks, skipping steel reinforcement (iron rods) in pillars, using wood or zinc for extensions where concrete is legally required,” she said.
She warned that such practices pose serious safety risks.
“These practices increase the risk of building collapses, which is a severe safety hazard,” she added.
Debate over alternatives to cement
Efelona argued that one of the reasons cement remains expensive is the lack of widely accepted alternatives in the construction industry.
She said older building methods have been abandoned, despite their affordability.
“The government is also culpable in this regard because the use of bricks that do not use cement which was in use in the olden days have been jettisoned because the people feel the process is tedious,” she said.
She suggested that encouraging states to develop local building materials could help reduce dependence on cement.
“If every state in Nigeria takes it upon them to develop their peculiar building materials, the price of most of the building materials will crash because there will be limited importation,” she said.
Efelona also called for increased competition in the cement industry through the licensing of more producers.
“If the government should license more companies to produce and manufacture cement, there will be enough competition and the people will be allowed a variety of choices to make,” she said.
She warned that limited alternatives effectively give producers pricing power.
“But when you have limited alternatives to cement, you don’t have any choice but to go for that particular cement no matter the cost because there is monopoly,” she said.
She added that rising material costs are directly affecting both rental and purchase prices of properties nationwide.
“This is why the cost of properties whether renting or buying whole will continue to be on the increase,” she said.
Efelona also noted that regulatory requirements make it difficult for builders to adopt cheaper materials.
“Most people rely on concrete because modern building regulations in Nigeria demand it. Even informal builders find it difficult to use alternative, cheaper materials like mud, bamboo, or stabilized earth bricks without facing public stigma or failing city building codes,” she said.
Market dynamics and pricing trends
A major cement distributor in Ikorodu, Ms. Halimat Okonjo, said cement prices have remained relatively stable in recent months.
“Now, we sell Elephant cement at N13, 800 per bag and that’s the price for like two to three months now,” she said.
She added that price differences among major brands have narrowed significantly.
“No big difference between the price for Dangote and Elephant Cement for some time,” she said.
Okonjo attributed the relative stability to seasonal demand patterns and market conditions.
“I think it’s because of government intervention and the rainy season that we even have so,” she said. “Normally, demand is low during the rainy season as most construction work stops.”
She also noted that broader industry concerns remain, including production costs and market structure.
Policy discussions on housing and construction
Experts at a 2025 Property Expo suggested that expanding social housing programmes could help ease pressure on private construction costs and improve affordability.
They argued that government-led housing schemes could help stabilise demand and create pricing benchmarks for the private sector.
However, concerns were also raised about inconsistent implementation of housing policies and limited focus on low-income populations.
Some stakeholders further argued that decentralising development to rural areas and promoting industrial expansion outside major cities could help reduce urban housing pressure.
They maintained that unless structural issues in production, competition, and housing policy are addressed, cement prices will continue to drive up construction costs and worsen Nigeria’s housing affordability crisis.
