Business
FG threatens to open border for cement importation

Published
1 year agoon
By
Ekwutos BlogThe 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.
You may like
Because the husband could not afford 500k for her M£dical Bill the H0spital rejected her and she kpai eventually From the L£gal point of view Can we hold the h0spital responsible for the D£@th of the pr£gnant lady?
US will stay in NATO, but it must be ‘stronger’, Marco Rubio tells his 31 counterparts
I want to register my Busin£ss with CAC (c0porate affairs c0mmission) Atanda, but i don’t know if I should R£gister as a Busin£ss name or as a Limited Liability C0mpany Atanda pls, can you guide me and advice me on the best option to choose I am into Dry Cleaning Busin£ss
Imo State Government bans all forms of task force in the state
Security: Abia govt to keep close watch on traditional rulers, confirms kidnap victim’s release
Uromi killings: Defence Headquarters gives progress report
Business
CBN declares report on N10,000, N5,000 banknotes as fake

Published
9 hours agoon
April 3, 2025By
Ekwutos Blog
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has dismissed as false a circulating report claiming that it has introduced new N5,000 and N10,000 banknotes to enhance cash transactions.
In a post on its official X handle, formerly Twitter, the apex bank said, “The content is not from the Central Bank of Nigeria. Kindly note that the official website of the CBN is cbn.gov.ng.”
A statement from the CBN’s communications department further clarified, “The only official sources for releasing statements to the media are our website or statements from our department. There is also no Deputy Governor by such name. We are investigating the source of this fake content.”
The report quoted one Deputy CBN Governor, Ibrahim Tahir Jr., the move is aimed at reducing cash-handling costs and providing Nigerians with more efficient means of conducting large transactions. “The introduction of these new high-value denominations aligns with global best practices and will enhance economic activities while reducing the stress associated with carrying large amounts of cash,” the Governor stated. The CBN said there is no such name in its leadership.
Business
NNPC: NAPE backs Tinubu on Kyari sack, Ojulari appointment

Published
1 day agoon
April 2, 2025By
Ekwutos Blog
The Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists has backed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the new Nigerian National Petroleum Company board appointment.
The president of NAPE, Johnbosco Uche, disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday.
Ekwutosblog reports that Tinubu removed the NNPCL chairman, Pius Akinyelure, and the GCEO, Mele Kyari, on Wednesday.
Reacting, NAPE noted that the appointment of Bayo Ojulari as group chief executive officer and Ahmadu Musa Kida as non-executive chairman of NNPCL is a bold step towards repositioning the oil and gas industry for greater efficiency, transparency, and profitability.
“The Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists wishes to express its profound appreciation to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the recent appointment of a new board and management team for the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited.
“We are confident that the new team will bring the necessary expertise and experience to drive the oil and gas sector forward,” the association said.
Business
Why Aussie consumers could soon be paying DOUBLE for beef

Published
1 day agoon
April 2, 2025By
Ekwutos Blog
- Small-scale farmers warning of $56/kg rump steaks
- PODCAST: Trump round three, Musk’s breakup with DOGE – and former Denmark ambassador on the ‘smartest thing’ Greenland can do. Listen here
Australian consumers could end up paying more than $50 a kilo for steak at the supermarket as a result of Donald Trump‘s tariffs on agriculture exports, farmers say.
A kilogram of rump steak at Woolworths is now selling for $28.
But the Australian Food Sovereignty Alliance, representing 350 small-scale farmers, fears rump steak will end of costing Australian consumers $56 at the supermarket.
Spokeswoman Tammi Jonas, an organic beef cattle producer from Daylesford in Victoria, said the American tariffs on agricultural imports would see more countries buy Australian beef to avoid trading with the US.
‘We already know there’s high demand for Australian beef around the world and I think that’s just going to get higher,’ she told Daily Mail Australia.
‘In a global supply crunch like this, we could see rump steak climb past $50 per kilogram.
‘That’s not a family dinner – that’s a premium luxury.’
Dr Jonas said higher export prices would see less Australian meat sold to domestic consumers.

Australian consumers could end up paying more than $50 a kilo for steak as a result of Donald Trump ‘s tariffs on agriculture exports, farmers say (pictured is a Coles supermarket)
‘I would say there’s a strong likelihood of that, yes,’ she said.
‘And even if we still have enough beef sold within Australia, the prices are certain to go up.
‘Whenever you’re in those global markets, you roll with the volatility and if they can get a really high price overseas, they’re not going to charge less for domestic sales.’
But Angus Gidley-Baird, a senior analyst in animal protein with RaboResearch, said more expensive steak at the supermarket was unlikely, given the strong supply of Australian beef with the recent rainfall.
‘We produced record volumes of beef last year, I don’t see why there would be a shortage in the domestic market that would cause prices to rise,’ he told Daily Mail Australia.
‘The exports are effectively our markets that we sell the additional production into.’
Meat and Livestock Australia data showed the US was Australia’s biggest market for beef exports in 2024, putting it well ahead of Japan, South Korea and China.
Of the beef sent to the United States, 96 per cent of it was the leaner, grass fed variety that was either chilled or frozen.

The Australian Food Sovereignty Alliance fears rump steak will end of costing Australian consumers $56 at the supermarket. Spokeswoman Tammi Jonas (left) said the American tariffs on agricultural imports would see more countries buy Australian beef to avoid trading with the US
The Americans have been in the grip of a drought, and most of their beef is fattier, grain-fed.
South American beef exporters Argentina and Brazil are also dealing with a lack of rainfall, which means demand for Australian beef would continue to be strong.
Mr Gidley-Baird said the Americans, who produced fattier, grain-fed beef, would still need the leaner, Australian grass-fed beef to make hamburger patties, regardless of import tariffs.
‘The US still continues to need imported product because they’re not producing as much themselves,’ he said.
‘They’ll still need Australian beef – the drought, it’s getting better in the US but they’ve liquidated their herd and production volumes are down.
‘What Australia sends to the US complements their production system over there in that it balances out the fatter product they’re producing for hamburger production.
‘They need the product and we’re one of the biggest suppliers of it – me being rational would still say that they would still buy it.’
At the margins, strong American demand for grass-fed beef had pushed up prices for Australian lean mince, now selling for $15.50 a kilo at Woolworths.

The Trump Administration’s tariffs of up to 25 per cent on agricultural imports are coming into affect on Thursday, along with tariffs on pharmaceutical products (President Donald Trump is pictured in the White House)
‘The US market has been very strong – it’s demanding a fair amount of product which is putting a bit of pressure on mince prices, lean product prices,’ Mr Gidley-Baird said.
The Australian Food Sovereignty Alliance sees mince prices more than doubling to $36 a kilo.
But Dr Jonas predicted possible tariffs of up to 25 per cent on Australian beef would see American demand plunge, despite the fact they are in drought with an undersupply of grass-fed beef.
‘I think with a 25 per cent tariff they won’t be able to afford it – Americans are in as big a cost-of-living crisis as Australians are and they can’t handle a 25 per cent tariff on top of the higher meat price of imported Australian beef,’ she said.
The Australian Food Sovereignty Alliance didn’t do specific economic modelling on Australian beef prices, as a result of the Trump tariffs on agriculture coming into effect on Thursday.
But it argued China’s African swine flu in 2019 led to a doubling of pork prices, as supply fell by 40 per cent.
The alliance campaigns against agribusiness giants like JBS Foods Australia, which owns feedlots and abattoirs.
‘The local farmers like us are losing access to the facilities to slaughter,’ Dr Jonas said.
‘While that sounds like a good thing for Australia – when we think, “We can export more” – the reality of that is very few people profit from that higher export.’
The Trump Administration’s tariffs of up to 25 per cent on agricultural imports are coming into effect on Thursday, along with tariffs on pharmaceutical products.
‘If it’s a large tariff but applied to everyone, our competitive position remains the same,’ Mr Gidley-Baird said.
They follow 25 per cent tariffs on steel and aluminium, introduced on March 12.

Because the husband could not afford 500k for her M£dical Bill the H0spital rejected her and she kpai eventually From the L£gal point of view Can we hold the h0spital responsible for the D£@th of the pr£gnant lady?

US will stay in NATO, but it must be ‘stronger’, Marco Rubio tells his 31 counterparts

I want to register my Busin£ss with CAC (c0porate affairs c0mmission) Atanda, but i don’t know if I should R£gister as a Busin£ss name or as a Limited Liability C0mpany Atanda pls, can you guide me and advice me on the best option to choose I am into Dry Cleaning Busin£ss
Trending
- Trending5 months ago
NYA demands release of ‘abducted’ Imo chairman, preaches good governance
- Business5 months ago
US court acquits Air Peace boss, slams Mayfield $4000 fine
- Politics5 months ago
Mexico’s new president causes concern just weeks before the US elections
- Entertainment5 months ago
Bobrisky transferred from Immigration to FCID, spends night behind bars
- Entertainment5 months ago
Bobrisky falls ill in police custody, rushed to hospital
- Politics5 months ago
Russia bans imports of agro-products from Kazakhstan after refusal to join BRICS
- Politics5 months ago
Putin invites 20 world leaders
- Politics1 year ago
Nigerian Senate passes Bill seeking the establishment of the South East Development Commission.