Valentine Okafor
The news about proposed cement price cut by BUA Cement is raising concerns among stakeholders and building industry in particular.
Majority have said they are skeptical about the announcement but hops to see the outcome fruitfully helping to crash rising price of cement in the domestic market.
Recall that on September 15th 2023, the Chairman of BUA Cement Plc shocked Nigerians, after meeting President Bola Ahmed Tinubu that he will reduce the price of his cement brand to about N3,000 by January 2024.
While some Nigerians are set to beat the drums for celebration, others are calling for caution given the antecedent of BUA Group in redeeming promises as the group made similar promise two years ago and failed.
One of the respondents Mr Babatunde Fehintolu opined that the BUA Cement boss has made multiple promises to reduce the price of his cement price only to increase the price few months after.
According to Fehintolu, Nigerians shouldn’t be carried away with sweet promise of Abdulsamad Raniu, because he has done same in the past without keeping them.
” The media was awash few days ago, after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had a meeting with the Chairman of BUA Group Alhaji Abdulsamad Rabiu, where the later is quoted to have promised to crash the price of his cement brand from about the current N5,000 to about N3,000 beginning from January 2024.
“I will not be carried away by that promise untill he proves me wrong. He has told Nigerians this many times so I will wait and see before I will believe him” he stated.
His view is shared by a major cement seller in Korodu who while speaking with media recently said the BUA Group boss is playing to the gallery after meeting with the president, he just want to say what Mr President will like to hear.
“Why do some of us like to play games with us?. In 2021 he promised to reduce the price of cement few weeks after the price went up. I can still remember in 2021, price of cement was sold for about N3,500 per bag, the BUA Cement boss said the price of his brand can fall by some 40 per cent to about N2,200 if there is an increase in capacity and production.”
He said stronger competition and opening up of the sector to more players as well as imports will crash the price of the the commodity.