The Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Ahmed Dangiwa has lamented the rising prices of building materials across the nation.
The Minister said he intends to conduct a meeting with cement manufacturers and other providers of building materials across the country.
According to him, there is the need to address the issue.
The Minister said this during a courtesy call by 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 his office in Abuja.
"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 argued.
Reports have it that a 50kg of cement is now sold above N10,000 in some areas in the country, a significant increase from N5000 it sold some weeks back.
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