An expert in the housing sector has cried over high cost of cement which has risen to .N13,000 a bag, and asked the federal government to intervene

Similarly, petrol pump prices has jumped to N1,395 per litre on Saturday as filling stations adjusted to the Dangote Petroleum Refinery’s latest pricing regime, which raised its gantry price to N1,350 per litre.

Checks by our correspondent showed that the Dangote-backed MRS filling station in Alapere, Lagos, changed its price from N1,310 to N1,395 on Saturday.

The price was N1,385 at the Mobil filling station on the same axis.

It was also observed that some filling stations had yet to adjust their pump prices as of 6pm on Saturday.

The Dangote refinery increased the gantry price of premium motor spirit from N1,265 to N1,350 per litre, effective Saturday, 12 September 2026.

The latest adjustment is the fourth upward review of the Dangote refinery’s petrol gantry price since August 21.

Dangote had increased the price from N1,165 to N1,185 per litre on August 21 before raising it to N1,200 on August 26.

It subsequently increased the price to N1,265 on August 29 and has now added another N85 per litre, taking the gantry price to N1,350 in three weeks.

The successive increases have raised the refinery’s petrol price by N185 per litre, or about 15.9 per cent, in 22 days

Speaking in an interview, Wammakko said the Nigerian government should intervene by signing the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Bill, also known as the RECON Bill, passed by the 9th National Assembly.

According to him, the price of cement, which has spiked by at least 50 percent, needs to be brought down through adequate legislation.

Aliyu explained that the soaring prices of cement and iron rods were worsening Nigeria’s housing deficit and making home-ownership increasingly unaffordable for ordinary Nigerians.

“The most nagging issue today in Nigeria is the price of building materials,” Wammakko said.

“People are complaining about paying higher rent. You don’t have to see the fault of the landlords because they go to the same market you go as a tenant.

“The higher cost of rent now in Nigeria doesn’t come by accident. It has its genesis in the cost of building materials in the country.

“Presently, cement is about N13,000 per bag. As far as March 2025, I bought cement for N7,500. So now it is about N13,000 and moving upward,” he said.

The former President of the Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria (REDAN) stressed that the government should review the multiple taxes and levies imposed on cement manufacturers to enable them to reduce prices.

He specifically called for incentives and subsidies for cement production, noting that cheaper building materials would ultimately reduce the cost of housing.

“If they want to give a solution to the whole saga, they should be able to bring at least a subsidy in terms of cement production and cut all the taxes that have been associated with it so that the producers can sell cement at a price that is affordable to Nigerians,” he said.

“And I’m sure that will bring down the cost of houses in Nigeria as well.

“The solution to the housing deficit in the country is for the government to channel more money into the Federal Mortgage Bank so that people can get affordable finance for affordable construction,” he said.

“We are thinking of at least not less than N1 trillion into the Federal Mortgage Bank”, former President of the Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria, REDAN stated.