Nigerian Builders Under Pressure As Dealers Announce New Cement Prices
- Cement dealers in Nigeria announced a new price of up to N16,000 per 50kg bag, up from N13,000 recorded just days earlier
- A Lagos builder facing a landlord's quit notice said the sudden increase has left him unable to continue or stop construction
- The FCCPC launched a three-month investigation into possible price manipulation by major cement manufacturers
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Legit.ng journalist Dave Ibemere has over a decade of experience in business journalism, with in-depth knowledge of the Nigerian economy, stocks, and general market trends.
Cement dealers across Nigeria have announced fresh price increases, with a 50kg bag now selling for as much as N16,000 in some markets, up from N13,000 recorded by buyers just days earlier.
The jump has caught builders off guard, particularly those mid-way through construction projects, and adds to a broader rise in building material costs that has persisted over the past two years.
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BusinessDay reports that Jude Njoku, who is building a three-bedroom bungalow along the Lagos-Badagry Expressway, said the increase hit him without warning.
He purchased bags at N13,000 each on Friday, but when he returned on Monday to buy more, dealers quoted N16,000.
He said:
"I went back to buy more on Monday and was told that the price had gone up to N16,000 per bag. How can I continue this work at that price?"
How Far Cement Prices Have Climbed
The current prices mark a steep rise from where the market stood in late 2024, when a bag sold for around N7,500. By the third quarter of 2025, that figure had risen to about N9,000 before reaching the N12,000 to N16,000 range now seen across different locations.
Other building materials have followed a similar upward path.
Blocks have climbed from around N600 to N1,100 each, sand has gone from N165,000 to N250,000 per 30 tonnes, granite has risen from N530,000 to N780,000 per 30 tonnes, and reinforcing steel now costs N1.15 million per tonne, up from N850,000.
FCCPC Probes Cement Industry
The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has been examining whether prices in the cement sector are being artificially inflated.
The commission said preliminary findings from a three-month investigation, contained in a 40-page field report by its Anticompetitive Practices Department, pointed to possible price manipulation.
Source: Getty Images
Investigators looked into why cement prices remain high given Nigeria's large limestone deposits and significant domestic production capacity. Nigeria has an installed annual cement production capacity of about 62.8 million metric tonnes.
Dangote Cement accounts for over 35 million metric tonnes of that figure, BUA Group holds up to 20 million metric tonnes, and Lafarge Africa, now known as HBM Nigeria, has nearly 12 million metric tonnes.
The FCCPC said most major manufacturers cooperated with investigators, though one declined to make its records available.
FG seeks cement price cut
Legit.ng earlier reported that the federal government urged cement manufacturers to consider reducing their prices as the rising cost of the building material continued to create concerns across the construction sector.
The government said the sharp increase in cement prices was driving up the cost of infrastructure projects and placing additional financial pressure on contractors handling public works.
The minister disclosed that contractors had increasingly asked the ministry to review existing contracts, citing the higher cost of cement and its impact on project execution.
Source: Legit.ng
