Nigerians’ Hope For Lower Cement Price Dims

 By Ayodele Ifasakin 

Speaking to Financial Vanguard on condition of anonymity, a top official of Lafarge Africa Plc, makers of Elephant Cement stated that the operating environment has not been favourable to the cement industry as input costs continue to soar daily. The source noted that the cost for the importation of the machine and its parts for maintenance have been rising due to exchange rate volatility.

Nigerians’ Hope For Lower Cement Price Dims

The source emphasised that the rise in inflation is also a concern to the industry, urging the government to quickly address the problem.

Another factor for the rise in the price of cement is the rising cost of energy. “The machines that are used in the cement industry consume gas and electricity supply is erratic and cannot be relied upon,” the source added.

Concerning the threat by the government to lift the importation of cement, Lafarge source said: “It is not the best option; the government should tackle the causes for inflation and provide the necessary infrastructure for production.”

Commenting on the cost of inputs used by the cement manufacturers, Kabiru Rabiu, Group Executive Director, BUA Cement, said: “If you look at production costs the mining cost is probably not more than 30% and that is the only local thing, but for instance, the energy cost is about 40 to 50% and is index to dollars.

“The price of gas that used to operate the cement plant went up a little bit, but it was not even the price that was the problem, it is more about the exchange rate, even though we pay in naira for the energy for the gas. What happened was that this gas was indexed to the US dollar.

For example, last year we paid gas at N418 and then it jumped up to N750 and today the last invoice was priced at N1500 “Also we all import our gypsum, yes in Sokoto, we use local gypsum, but we do import our gypsum which is also priced in US dollar and you clear it using the dollar as a benchmark and then you transport it to your site. The bag in which we put cement also is in dollars because we import polypropylene as well; as the exchange rate of dollars continues to rise, this price will continue to go up.

So it is a perception that has been created that 90% of cement is local. The reality is even though you could say so, but the reality is that everything is indexed to dollars.

The more the naira gets weaker the higher you see some of these input costs in our operation and unfortunately somebody has to bear the price.”

Dangote Cement to key into CNG by 2025

Meanwhile, as part of measures to tackle the rising cost of transportation, Dangote Cement has assured that it will key into the Federal Government’s agenda, to run all cement trucks on Compressed Natural Gas, CNG.

The Chairman Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, also disclosed the company’s ongoing efforts at ramping up production with the ongoing construction of a new plant of 6 million metric tonnes per annum at Itori, in Ewekoro Local Government Area of Ogun State, to spur the supply of cement which would have some positive effect on price in the long run.

BREAKING: FG reduces petrol pump price to N123.50 litre

AgegePulse Magazine

The Federal Government has announced a reduction of the pump price of the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) to N123.50 per litre.

According to the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), Executive Secretary, Mr. Abdulkadir Saidu, the new price takes effect from today, April 1, 2020.


In a statement in Abuja on Tuesday night, he said: “PPPRA, in line with the Government approval for a monthly review of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) pump price, hereby announces Guiding PMS pump price of N123.50 per Litre.

“The Guiding price which becomes effective 1st April 2020, shall apply at all retail outlets nationwide for the month of April, 2020.

“PPPRA and other relevant regulatory Agencies shall continue to monitor compliance to extant regulations for a sustainable downstream petroleum sector. Members of the Public and all Oil Marketing Companies are to be guided accordingly.”

The Nation

BREAKING: FG Reduces Fuel Price To N130

AgegePulse Magazine

BREAKING: FG Reduces Fuel Price To N130
President Muhammadu Buhari may have approved the reduction of pump price of the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) also known as petrol from N145 to N130.

A reliable presidential source, who disclosed this to The Nation at the Presidential Villa on Wednesday, said the approval may have followed a presentation by the Minister of State on Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, to the ongoing Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting at the Villa.

According to the source, who would not want to be named, Sylva had made a request to the FEC for the reduction of pump price of the product, citing the drop in the price of crude oil at the global market.


Below is the statment released by NNPC

PMS Price Adjustment


In compliance with the directives of the Honourable Minister of State for Petroleum Resources on PMS pricing, the Corporation has reviewed its Ex-coastal, Ex-depot and NNPC Retail pump prices accordingly.

Effective 19th March 2020, NNPC Ex-Coastal price for PMS has been reviewed downwards from N117.6/litre to N99.44/litre while Ex-Depot price is reduced from N133.28/litre to N113.28/litre.

These reductions will therefore translate to N125/litre retail pump price.

Despite the obvious cost implication of this immediate adjustment to the Corporation, NNPC is delighted to effect this massive reduction of N20/litre for the benefit of all Nigerians.

Accordingly, all NNPC Retail stations nationwide have been directed to change the retail pump price to N125/litre.

Mele K. Kyari
Group Managing Director, NNPC

Muslim lady reject Bride price then tell husband to promise her not to marry another wife in public

AgegePulse Magazine

opera.com

According to witness, Aishat Busari, A Muslim lady rejected the Dowry (Bride price), then tell her husband to promise her not to marry another wife in present of all the family during wedding in Offa, Kwara State .

This happened in Amuyo Area Offa, Kwara State, a lady called Fatima Babawale rejected the Dowry on 15/2/2020 during their Nikkah and requested for promise.

In Islamic Religion, is not mandatory to give the woman Bride price as money, Bride price can be in different form, for example, it can be Money, Cloth,Shoe, or any tangible thing that came from bride mind.

During Muhammed Adebayo and Fatima Babawale's on Saturday 15th 2020, Alfa ask Muhammed to come out and pay his wife bride price and also the Imam ask him the kind of bride price he want to pay, Muhammed was about to drop money while Fatma stand up and tell Muhammed not to pay money, one of the Alfa ask Fatima what she want and she said Muhammed should promise her that he will not Marry another woman in present of all the family, Muhammed was surprised at first, because she has not discuss it with him before the Nikkah.

Mohammed went to his dad and mum to discuss with them in short minutes, they concluded that he should do what his wife requested.

He now take the Microphone and promised her, and they concluded the Nikkah.

If this situation is you, what will you do?

Feednews.com

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Price of Cooking Gas to Crash as Federal Government Removes VAT

The Federal Government finally bowed to pressure from stakeholders during the weekend as it announced final arrangements for removing VAT on Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) popularly called cooking gas.

This new development is expected to crash the price of cooking gas by as much as 20 percent. This implies that a 12.5kg of cooking gas which currently goes for N4, 300 is expected to crash to N3, 440 under the new policy.

Stakeholders in the Oil and Gas Industry have often been at loggerheads with the Federal Government that the imposition of VAT on cooking gas made the essential commodity unnecessarily expensive thereby discouraging potential consumers from embracing the use of cooking gas.

Speaking further on the policy, a source at the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) revealed that government has already finalised talks with the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) and the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) to suspend further collection of VAT on cooking gas.

The source however declined to confirm when the policy would most likely be implemented but assured that an official pronouncement would be made any time from now.

The Nigerian Association of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers (NALPGAM) has been at the forefront of applying pressure on the government to lift VAT on locally produced cooking gas.

NALPGAM had always implied that it was imperative to develop effective policies in order to encourage investors to come into the LPG sector to deepen market penetration, boost the country’s economy and protect the environment.

The association further reiterated that the removal of VAT on the gas supplied to marketers by NLNG would most assuredly attract more investors as well as reduce the importation of gas into the country, which is VAT-free.

The association also advocated for the Federal government to take a step further and reduce import duty on LPG equipment in order to encourage more investors to come in and deepen LPG consumption in the country.

“Our position is that the government has to provide the enabling environment for more people to come in. We have to remove VAT on LPG and reduce import duties on the equipment.” It said.

In further reaction to the VAT removal by the Federal Government, NALPGAM also announced plans to deepen the use of LPG by helping to boost local consumption of the essential commodity from 700,000 metric tonnes to 1,000,000 metric tonnes yearly.

NALPGAM President, Mr. Nosa Ogieva-Okunbor, reiterated that the target would increase to five million metric tonnes by 2025 if every stakeholder within the value chain played their part to the letter

LReporter