[size=14pt]Jonathan directs Dangote, others to crash cement prices within 30 days[/size]
On May 16, 2011 · In Headlines
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BY DANIEL   IDONOR
ABUJA — PIQUED by the soaring prices of cement in the country, President Goodluck Jonathan, Monday, summoned the Chairman of Dangote Group, and other cement manufacturers with a directive to crash the prices of the product within 30 days period or face the wrath of the government.

Presidential spokesman, Mr Ima Niboro, who announced Jonathan’s decision after a meeting in the President’s office, said the manufacturers had agreed to do all that was necessary to meet the one month time frame.

According to him, his boss, Jonathan was saddened by the complaints of Nigerians over the sharp rise in the cost of the product and decided to call a meeting of the top five manufacturers to find a way out.

At a post-meeting briefing the President of the Cement Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, CMAN, Chief Joseph Makoju; Chairman of Dangote Group, Alhaji Dangote; Chairman of BUA Group, Alhaji Abdulsamad Rabiu and Country Manager of Lafarge Cement, Jean-Christophe Barbant assured Nigerians that the prices would come down before the deadline.

Makoju told State House correspondents that both the President and the manufacturers had agreed to address the causes of the product scarcity and high cost as it concerned government obligations as well as what was required on the part of the manufacturers.

“In addressing the causes, some of the issues are on our side as the manufacturers, some of the issues are on government side and I am very confident that over the next weeks, you will see the impact on the issue of supply and prices of cement,” Makoju said.

African richest man, Dangote, said that the major problems the industry was facing were in the areas of supply of Low Pour Fuel Oil (LPFO) consumed by the industry and the loss of 6, 000 trucks by his group recently, adding that the recent post election crisis in the North which caused a short down of production for weeks was partly responsible for the hike in price.

The African leading industrialist who announced that arrangement was being made by his companies to sell cement directly to retailers buying as little as one truck as part of moves to bring down prices, observed marketers were also capitalising on the increase in the pump price of diesel as they transfer additional cost to the final consumers.

Dangote said, “the other issue is that of transportation. You know once there is an increase of N1 in diesels, transporters will take that opportunity and increase their charges. When you look at when we started producing cement at Obajana, cement for the first time became cheaper, it is still cheaper than the price of Lagos while this was not the case before now.

“So you can see that we are doing quite a lot and I can assure you that in the next few weeks these prices will definitely come down,” he said.

Dangote also disclosed that his organisation has ordered for 5, 000 additional trucks to ameliorate the problem of haulage of cement to all parts of the country saying “We are doing all that to try and bring down the cost of transportation but we will do it in such a way that it will not affect other transporters because we also need them in the business to survive.

“Cement will definitely be exported, worst case scenario by first quota of next year, Nigeria should be earning a lot of foreign exchange and I can guarantee you that cement would be one of the major foreign exchange earners in the next few months to come,” he stated.

In his contribution, the chairman of BUA Group noted that some of the challenges that caused increase in cement prices were being addressed some of which included the closure of Kaduna Refinery and cement companies based in the North which were closed as a result of the post election crisis.

“There were challenges and some of them have been taken care of, namely the issue of LPFO. Kaduna refinery was out of production for some time but is now back on stream, and most of the companies located in the north like Ashaka cement, Sokoto cement, Benue cement rely entirely on LPFO. So, when Kaduna refinery had an issue a lot of companies were not able to produce and that have already been taken care of,” he stressed.

The Country Manager of Lafarge Group, revealed that the meeting also agreed that there would be more investment in the cement sector to make the product more available and cheaper.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2011/05/jonathan-directs-dangote-others-to-crash-cement-prices-within-30-days/

I see that GEJ is getting some things done.

Can he work on the North? I really really want to visit the Northern region without the possibility of losing my life because I look like a tasty Yoruba woman.

Ileke-IdI:

I see that GEJ is getting some things done.

Can he work on the North? I really really want to visit the Northern region without the possibility of losing my life because I look like a tasty Yoruba woman.

no try am o! they go chop off ur abunne

My first question to Goodluck and his supporters, Is nigeria not running a capitalist econony? so how cement producers are  just be called up to reduce the price of their product in 1 month.

I thought Goodluck's government does not has a dictatorial tendency  as the said Buhari

Diesel    = Otedula  up after the election
Cement = Dangote up after the election
PDP      =Zoning  after the election


More to come

Ileke-IdI:

I see that GEJ is getting some things done.

Can he work on the North? I really really want to visit the Northern region without the possibility of losing my life because I look like a tasty Yoruba woman.

The North is a very beautiful place with really beautiful people (outside religion). There is also more sin in Sabongari, Kano than Lagos can aspire to!
. . .But, please I beg you in Gods Good Name; DON'T GO THERE IN THE NEAR FUTURE!

EPOMA:

My first question to Goodluck and his supporters, Is nigeria not running a capitalist econony? so how cement producers are  just be called up to reduce the price of their product in 1 month.

I thought Goodluck's government does not has a dictatorial tendency  as the said Buhari

Diesel    = Otedula  up after the election
Cement = Dangote up after the election
PDP      =Zoning  after the election


More to come

I was struck by the very same question too. However, it doesn't take vey long to conclude that Nigeria's economy knows no sane description (and its all due to our fake federalism).

How do you have a capitalist state that runs one of the highest scale welfarist systems in the World? I'm talking about the need to sahare money monthly from Abuja, cos the states can't produce zilch. Even at the peak of communism, the Soviet Union did not have such a centralised beggar bowl welfare system.

Until we grow strong institutions and address our constitutional, structural weaknesses and throw off the last vestiges of the premeval culture inherited from our unfortunate history of military regimes, we will be wasting time and decieving ourselves that Nigeria can be described as communist, capitalist, socialist, welfarist or any other sane description. Nigeria simply has no description, but there's the opportunity to begin building.

Beaf:

The North is a very beautiful place with really beautiful people (outside religion). There is also more sin in Sabongari, Kano than Lagos can aspire to!
. . .But, please I beg you in Gods Good Name; DON'T GO THERE IN THE NEAR FUTURE!

I've heard from friends and family.

There was no Ibo at the meeting?

Dont we have Ibo cement manufacturers?


GEJ must not have extended invites to fake cement manufactures. . . Maybe!

zstranger:

There was no Ibo at the meeting?

Dont we have Ibo cement manufacturers?


GEJ must not have extended invites to fake cement manufactures. . . Maybe!

u don start ha zstranger i really want to meet u for real

u must be a character, i tell ya

alj_harem:

u don start ha zstranger i really want to meet u for real

u must be a character, i tell ya

To get stuff to sniff or what?

Let me get this right he wants them to crash prices. Na im giive them money to build factories. What is wrong with this guys anyway

its about time,the idea of dangote robbing peter to pay paul with impunity all these years should have been curtailed,its suprising however that when the rest of the world have graduated to using more environmentally friendly but durable materials to build houses we are still stuck with using an average of 1 ton of pure concrete on building which is apalling.
i fail to understand why we use concrete and blocks even for internal dividing walls in a hot climate

eventhough I never did economy

but it not easy

does Jonathan have an economy advisor?

^^^

Two things ( From secondary school Economics Demand and Supply Graph): Flood the market or Cut the middle men

Excellento!!! now the government is a businessman who dictates commodity prices?

GODSON2009:

. . . . .its suprising however that when the rest of the world have graduated to using more environmentally friendly but durable materials to build houses we are still stuck with using an average of 1 ton of pure concrete on building which is apalling.
i fail to understand why we use concrete and blocks even for internal dividing walls in a hot climate

The day when armed robbers visit you, you go know why .

from N1,400 to N2,300 a bag within a space of 3months, this people wan kill us

Who will make up for their cost of production?or did they just increase the price at will?I think what the government should address is the cause of the price hike.

Dangote also disclosed that his organisation has ordered for 5, 000 additional trucks to ameliorate the problem of haulage of cement to all parts of the country saying “We are doing all that to try and bring down the cost of transportation but we will do it in such a way that it will not affect other transporters because we also need them in the business to survive.

first, y give 30 days ,i think 15 days altimatum shld do it. and i think GEJ should not stop with cement, flood the market with indomie, yam , sugar , flour, etc.
yeye. when does govt start meddling with enterprise.
anoda thing is that dangote man , 5000 more trucks with our dillapidated roads, abeg of una when travelling be careful of dangotes trucks oh.

edoyad:

The day when armed robbers visit you, you go know why .

He was to referring to internal walls  - external walls will still be made of bricks and concrete.  If adopted will generally bring down the cost of house building

If they don't crash the price, we will crash it ourselves. All we would do is open borders for cement importation.

OBJ closed the borders to allow them grow, good, but if they have not recovered well enough for their prices to come down, then let the borders open so that the prices will be forced down

zstranger:

There was no Ibo at the meeting?

Dont we have Ibo cement manufacturers?


GEJ must not have extended invites to fake cement manufactures. . . Maybe!

Bia this Yoruba almajiri, your omo nile job no de move again?

sirjec:

If they don't crash the price, we will crash it ourselves. All we would do is open borders for cement importation.

OBJ closed the borders to allow them grow, good, but if they have not recovered well enough for their prices to come down, then let the borders open so that the prices will be forced down

Stop lying!! Even if the price goes up to Naira 5000, I bet folks will still buy without as much as a wink. Obasanjo closed the borders? Do you know how long ago, and how many billions of dollars in profits ago that was?? lol

zstranger:

There was no Ibo at the meeting?

Dont we have Ibo cement manufacturers?


GEJ must not have extended invites to fake cement manufactures. . . Maybe!

If GEJ had called to share money to cement manufacturers to increase their throughput, would you have remembered ibos. I know that you tremble at the mention of ibos. Well not a problem, we are capable of surviving any hardship.

Ileke-IdI:

I've heard from friends and family.

where in the north is fine if I may ask you? Well, you can as well go and live there

Lets hope it works. The prices of cements are on the high side now.

There are some missing information in that story. The FG acknowledges  the part  it has to play in the arrangement.

Fuller story from Business Day:

FG issues cement manufacturers ultimatum to crash price .
Tuesday, 17 May 2011 00:00 Horatius Egua, Abuja    . .
The Federal Government yesterday gave a 30-day ultimatum to cement manufacturers in the country to bring down the cost of the product.

Speaking during a meeting with cement manufacturers at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, the president said the decision to bring down the price of the product “is to make it more accessible to Nigerians”. Fielding questions from State House correspondents after the meeting, Ima Niboro, special adviser to the president on media and publicity, said the manufacturers had agreed to do all that was necessary to meet the one-month deadline given by the president.

He said the president was sad about the rising cost of the product and decided to call a meeting of the top five manufacturers to find a way out of the problem.

“The president is worried about the situation. He is not happy about it and he wants the price to come down,” Niboro said.
Josephine Tapgun, minister of state for commerce, told newsmen that the stakeholders all agreed that there was an urgent need for the price of cement to come down.

According to Tapgun, they all agreed that the price must come down “and all stakeholders have agreed that there must be changes in the price of cement in Nigeria”.

The minister who acknowledged there were challenges in the sector, said government was confident such challenges would be addressed. “Meanwhile, Mr. President has also agreed to address issues where government needs to intervene. Government is ready to do that to ensure that the price is reduced”.

In a chat with State House correspondents, Joseph Makoju, president of the Cement Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (CMAN); Aliko Dangote, chairman of Dangote Group; Abdulsamad Rabiu, chairman of BUA Group and Jean-Christophe Barbant, country manager of Lafarge Cement, all assured that prices would come down before the deadline expired.

Makoju said both the president and the manufacturers agreed to address the causes of scarcity and high cost of cement, saying: “In addressing the causes, some of the issues are on our side as the manufacturers, some of the issues are on government’s side, and I am very confident that over the next weeks, you will see the impact on the issue of supply and prices of cement”.

Dangote cited the Low Pour Fuel Oil (LPFO) consumed by the industry, the loss of 6, 000 trucks by his group recently, as well as the post-election crisis in the North as partly responsible for the hike in price.

He told journalists that arrangements were being made by his companies to sell cement directly to retailers, irrespective of quantity, as part of moves to bring down prices.

The business mogul lamented that marketers were also capitalising on the increase in the pump price of diesel in the country by transferring additional costs to the consumers.

He said: “The other issue is that of transportation. You know, once there is an increase of N1 on diesel, transporters would take that opportunity and increase their charges. When you look at when we started producing cement at Obajana, cement, for the first time, became cheaper. It is still cheaper than in Lagos while this was not the case before now”.

“So, you can see that we are doing quite a lot and I can assure you that in the next few weeks, these prices will definitely come down,” he said.

Dangote said his company had ordered about 5, 000 additional trucks to ameliorate the problem of cement haulage across the country.

“We are doing all that to try and bring down the cost of transportation, but we will do it in such a way that it will not affect other transporters because we also need them in the business to survive,” he said.

“Cement will definitely be exported. Worst case scenario, by first quarter of next year, Nigeria should be earning a lot of foreign exchange and I can guarantee you that cement will be one of the major foreign exchange earners in the next few months,” he said.

The chairman of BUA Group noted that some of the challenges that caused increase in cement price were being addressed; including the closure of the Kaduna Refinery, as well as the closure of cement companies based in the North as a result of the post election crises.

“There were challenges and some of them have been taken care of; namely, the issue of LPFO. the Kaduna refinery was out of production for some time but is now back on stream, and most of the companies located in the north, like Ashaka Cement, Sokoto Cement and Benue Cement rely entirely on LPFO. So, when the Kaduna refinery had an issue, a lot of companies were not able to produce, but that has been taken care of,” he stated.

http://www.businessdayonline.com/NG/index.php/news/76-hot-topic/21548-fg-issues-cement-manufacturers-ultimatum-to-crash-price

As much as i commend GEJ's effort on this one i think
is very important for him to pay attention to policies that will drive
good competition among producers. This will also go a long way to break
monopoly in the industry.
Above all, he should pay close attention to power generation, lack of power
is killing this economy walahi talahi.

Go GEJ! I'l just wait till next month before I start building.

nigerians for all i know have nothing good to celebrate hence they celebrate anything. see folks celebrating jonathan said, jonathan directs, jonathan to stop, jonathan will. what ever happens to our constitution? can't this jonathan make room for institutions that will be effective and independent in handling different issues in the country? at the end of the day, we will continue on jonathan this, jonathan that for the next 4 years and we will gather here to celebrate another man that will promise us turning nigeria into japan and america join together and u see these same hopeless folks begin to pop their champagnes.
a whole country like nigeria is been manipulated on temporary basis. nothing that i know about nigeria that is stable or permanent.
how can a country be managed without electricity, police, hospitals, educational system, good raods, security or even sane rulers? i feel shame associating myself with those that celebrate even when jonathan coughs.

Best news I have heard all year. Nice one, Jono

Price-fixing is silly.  It leads to shortages.  But, yeah, I don't understand how cement could possibly be a monopoly; someone should look into that.