Aliyu Wammakko, an expert in the housing sector has explained why the Federal Government needs to cut taxes associated with cement production and consider subsidies to bring down the rising cost of building materials and housing in Nigeria.
Wammakko made this disclosure in an interview with DAILY POST on Friday.
His comments come amid a hike in house rents on the back of rising building material prices in Nigeria.
DAILY POST reports that high rental costs have been a huge concern for the majority of Nigerians nationwide.
Speaking in an interview with DAILY POST, 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.
