Stakeholders have raised concerns over rising prices of cement, a major component in Nigeria's construction sector, describing the current price of N12,000 per bag as 'outrageous.'
They maintain that if the price remain high at N12,000, affordable housing will be elusive and in defiance to efforts by both national and subnational governments to bridge housing deficit.
Their concerns are coming few days after the federal listed cement as part of prohibited import items
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Daily Trust reports that the Federal Government updated its import prohibition list, targeting cement, soaps, fertiliser, and 14 other categories of goods, bringing the total number of affected categories to 17.
The document titled "Approval for the Implementation of the 2026 Fiscal Policy Measures and Tariff Amendments" stated that the revised measures took effect from April 1, 2026, under the ECOWAS Common External Tariff framework.
According to the circular, "This is to confirm that His Excellency, Mr President, has approved the implementatiAon of the 2026 Fiscal Policy Measures made up of Supplementary Protection Measures (SPM)... with effect from 1st April 2026."
A market survey at major building building material marketd in the FCT show that a 50kg bag of Dangote Cement sells between N11,800 to N12,00 depending on the product
The three major cement manufacturers in Nigeria are Dangote cement, Ibeto cement and Lafarge.
Stakeholders noted that Nigeria housing sector, is in troubling times which has seen a lot of developers abandon their project sites, while private individuals who aspire to have their own homes are discouraged by high prices
A real estate expert, Jide Fasuyi told this Newspaper that Nigerians boost of three major manufacturers than export the product to other countries, yet citizens cannot afford the commodity
He argued that majority of the raw materials used to produced cement is found in Nigeria, questioning why prices should remain high.
"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.
"The manufacturers should explain to Nigerians their reasons for such incessant hikes. I know that the cement producers source their raw materials in Nigeria; 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 the dollar
"Clearly, this is a crisis for housing delivery. An increase in essential building materials means an increase in the prices of houses," he said.
Also, a civil engineer, Chukwuebuka Vincent lamented the rise in which according to him has risen by over 100 per cent in the last three years.
"By 2023 when this government came to power, cement was selling between 5,500 to N6,000 . Today it is about an12,000 and it is difficult to understand what changed so abruptly, as a civil engineer supervising a building project that has just been put on hold due to high input cost.
"This does not just affect me but many of my colleagues supervising projects. Their clients have asked them to pause work because of high prices of cement and other building materials,"
He argues that Nigeria has the largest cement industry within West Africa with Dangote Cement the largest cement producer in Nigeria and West Africa, manufacturing a combined share of more than 28.5 metric tonnes per year.
He concluded that "Affordable housing will be difficult to achieve because many developers will have to increase prices as long as prices of cement remain above the rooftop,"
Petrol price hikes worsening Nigeria's housing crisis - HDAN
Meanwhile, the Executive Director of Housing Development Advocacy Network (HDAN), Barr. Festus Adebayo noted that the rising cost of petrol is compounding Nigeria's housing challenges, pushing home ownership further beyond the reach of millions, findings have shown.
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He said "The cost of building materials such as cement, iron rods, tiles, and fittings has surged in recent months, largely due to increased transportation expenses linked to higher fuel prices.
"Contractors and developers are complaining that logistics costs have risen sharply, forcing suppliers to pass the burden to end users.
"In addition, construction activities--heavily dependent on petrol and diesel-powered equipment--have become significantly more expensive.
"Labour costs have also increased, as workers demand higher wages to offset rising transportation expenses. Also property developers are adjusting prices upward to remain afloat amid rising operational costs and economic uncertainty.
"Increased project costs, expensive financing, and higher risk exposure are forcing developers to reprice housing units beyond the reach of average Nigerians.
"As a result, homes that were previously considered affordable for middle-income earners are now largely targeted at high-income buyers," he added.
