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FG threatens to open border for cement importation

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The federal government has threatened to possibly open the borders to cement importation if Nigerian cement manufacturers refuse to reduce the price of the commodity in the country.

 

Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Arc Ahmed Dangiwa, who made the declaration said key input materials for cement production such as limestone, clay, silica sand, and gypsum sourced within our borders, should not be dollar-rated.

 

Dangiwa made this known on Tuesday, February 20, in Abuja at an emergency meeting held with cement and building materials manufacturers. He said the price of gas that manufacturers are using as an excuse should not be because gas is a raw material found within the country and the excuse of an increase in mining equipment should not come up because equipment bought by these manufacturers has been used for decades and not just purchased every day.

 

The minister said the border was closed to the importation of cement to help local manufacturers but if the government decides to open it back for mass importation, prices of cement would crash and local manufacturers would be gravely affected.

 

Dangiwa who called on the manufacturers to be more patriotic said BUA cement for instance has been willing and is still willing as at the last time he spoke with them to crash the price of their cement, lower than the N7000, N8000 agreed by the manufacturers and he sees no reason why the others should not do same.

 

The minister in response to the manufacturers said: “The challenges you speak of, many countries are facing the same challenges and some even worse than that but as patriotic citizens, we have to rally around whenever there is a crisis to change the situation.

 

“The gas price you spoke of, we know that we produce gas in the country the only thing you can say is that maybe it is not enough. Even if you say about 50 percent of your production cost is spent on gas prices, we still produce gas in Nigeria it’s just that some of the manufacturers take advantage of the situation. As for the mining equipment that you mentioned, you buy equipment and it takes years and you are still using it.

 

“The time you bought it maybe it was at a lower price but because now the dollar is high you are using it as an excuse. Honestly, we have to sit down and look at this critically. The demand and supply should be good for you because the government stopped the importation of cement, they stopped the importation in order to empower you to produce more.

 

“Otherwise if the government opens the border for mass importation of cement, the price would crash but you would have no business to do and at the same time the employment generation would go down. So these are the kinds of things you have to look at, the efforts of government in ensuring things go well.”

 

The minister also put the blame on the Cement Manufactures of Nigeria for not regulating the price of cement in the country because earlier, the Executive Secretary of the Association, Salako James had informed the minister that the association does not discuss or determine the price of individual companies but are only made aware of prices from the market like every Nigerian.

 

Dangiwa said the ministry would be setting up a committee which would be comprised of representatives of each cement manufacturer in the country, its association, and the government to fashion out modalities to resolve the problem of high price of cement in the country.

Business

FCCPC Urges Nigerians to Report Harassing Loan Apps and Businesses

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The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) is advising Nigerians to report any loan apps or businesses that engage in harassing behavior over unpaid loans.

According to the FCCPC, no consumer should live in fear of harassment or intimidation.

Ekwutosblog  gathered that Consumers can file complaints with the FCCPC through their website or contact their customer service hotline.

The FCCPC is responsible for protecting consumer rights and promoting fair competition in Nigeria.

FCCPC has taken steps to regulate digital money lenders and enforce consumer protection laws, including fining Meta and WhatsApp $220 million for violating the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act (FCCPA) and the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation (NDPR)

To file a complaint, follow these steps
Visit the FCCPC website and fill out the complaint form. Provide detailed information about the harassment, including dates, times, and communication records. Submit supporting documents, such as screenshots or messages.   FCCPC Website: https://fccpc.gov.ng/   Customer Service Hotline: 0805 600 2020, 0805 600 3030
Email: mailto:contact@fccpc.gov.ng

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Chief Vincent Obianodo is the Founder of Young Shall Grow Group, a leading transportation company in Nigeria.

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Chief Vincent was Born in Neni, Anambra State, He spent his early life in his hometown after which he moved to Kano state where He learnt how to fix punctured tyres (vulcanizer), and became perfect at it (a time when few people could do it), because of it he had a lot of customers queuing for his vulcanizing services.

He did the job for more few years before he decided to go into the transportation business as a bus conductor. He continued the bus conductor job until 1972 when he had gathered enough money to buy his bus. After acquiring maximum knowledge on how the transportation business works, he then decided to stop working as a bus conductor and he acquired a mini-bus to ply the Enugu to Onitsha route.

In 1973 he relocated his business operations from Onitsha to Lagos and ventured into a more developed transport business, which he started with two locally built Mercedes Benz 911 buses. After seven years of operating in Lagos, the number of buses he owned increased from 2 to 40 alongside his transport business. He also engaged in the delivery of goods which also boosted the success of his business.

His exceptional customer service delivery got many people to patronize his business and by 1978, he decided to expand by opening up a new interstate route, plying from Lagos to Onitsha to Owerri. He also bought a Mercedes Benz 0362 luxury bus for this purpose. This expansion gained his business more fame and within 6 years, his number of buses grew to 150. Owing to the success of the business, Chief Vincent Incorporated his business in 1984 so he could fully cover every possible part of Nigeria, as a leading inter-state luxury bus company.

Today, The Young Shall Grow Motors is one of the largest luxury bus companies in Nigeria with over 500 buses that ply almost every route in Nigeria as well as other west African countries like Ghana, Burkina Faso, Mali and The Benin Republic.

He also has businesses in the Hospitality, Oil and Gas, Real estate sectors.

From Vulcanizer to millionaire in dollars, today his net worth is over 300 million dollars.

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Dangote refinery, NNPC: More fuel stations increase pump price in Nigeria

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The price of Premium Motor Spirit, popularly known as fuel, has recorded a significant increase in the past days, which may worsen the economic hardship Nigerians face.

MRS, a filling station partner of Dangote Refinery, kicked off the latest fuel price increase when it adjusted its petrol pump to between N925 and N950 per litre in Lagos and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

Similarly, other fuel marketers such as Empire Energy, Recoil, Juda Oil, Total, Emedab, and others also increased their fuel pump to between N950 and N970 per litre.

On Wednesday, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited retail outlets also jacked up their fuel price to N950 per litre from N880 in Abuja.

Summarily, Ekwutosblog observed motorists will have to pay N70 more to buy a litre of petrol in the coming days.

The development comes amid the suspension of petrol product sales in Naira by Dangote Refinery. This follows the initiation of the naira-for-crude sale deal between Dangote Refinery and the federal government through NNPCL.

On Wednesday, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu announced a reshuffling of NNPCL.

Meanwhile, local oil prices are increasing in Nigeria, despite the decline in global crude prices. As of the time of this report, United States West Texas Intermediate was at $62.15 per barrel, down from above $65, while Brent crude stood at $65.42 per barrel, down from $72 last week.

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