Prince David Iweta, the National Chairman of the Cement Producers’ Association of Nigeria (CEPAN), has expressed the association’s willingness to collaborate with the Federal Government to swiftly reduce the price of cement within 30 days, if invited to contribute to the solution.
In an exclusive interview with the Nigerian Tribune on Sunday, Truthlive news learnt that Iweta emphasized that the association had foreseen the current situation and had previously cautioned the government about the consequences of relying on a limited number of producers to meet the cement demands of over 200 million people.
He attributed the ongoing price surge to the significant gap between the demand and supply of cement in the sector, dismissing claims of foreign exchange factors as the primary cause.
Iweta recalled the association’s earlier warning when cement prices were still at N3,000, highlighting the need for proactive measures to prevent the current predicament.
To address the immediate challenges, the CEPAN chairman urged the Federal Government to reconsider the late President Umar Yar’Adua’s Backward Integration Policy. This policy had granted import licenses to additional manufacturers in the industry to import cement temporarily, aiming to bridge the supply gap. However, he lamented that this initiative was thwarted by vested interests within the sector.
Iweta stressed the urgency of revisiting this policy to prevent further price hikes, emphasizing that the current players in the industry cannot meet the nation’s cement demands alone.
Despite previous unsuccessful attempts to engage with the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment and the Presidency, Iweta reiterated the association’s readiness to collaborate with the government to swiftly address the situation and lower the exorbitant cement prices within the stipulated 30-day period.