News
Federal Government threatens to open border for cement importation
The Federal Government has threatened to open the borders to enable cement importation if Nigeria’s cement manufacturers refuse to reduce the price of the commodity in the country.
The Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Ahmed Dangiwa, who issued the threat on Tuesday, said key input materials for cement production such as limestone, clay, silica sand, and gypsum, sourced within the nation’s borders, should not be dollar-rated.
Dangiwa spoke in Abuja at an emergency meeting held with cement and building materials manufacturers.
According to him, the price of gas that manufacturers are using as an excuse was not tenable because gas is a raw material found within the country.
He added that the excuse of an increase in mining equipment should not come up because equipment bought by the manufacturers have been used for decades and not purchased every day.
The minister said the border was closed to the importation of cement to help local manufacturers.
However, he noted that if the government decides to open the border for mass importation, prices of cement would crash and local manufacturers would be gravely affected.
The minister, 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 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,” he said.
Earlier, Group Chief Commercial Officer of Dangote Cement, Rabiu Umar blamed the high cost of gas and mining equipment for the hike in cement price.
He said: “It is safe to say we are all Nigerians and we are all facing the current head weight that is happening. I would like to speak on the popular belief that most of the raw materials to produce cement are available locally.
“While we have limestone and in some cases, we have gypsum and some cases coal, the reality is that it takes a lot of forex-related items to produce cement.”
Bandits have k!lled seven farmers, including a vigilante, and burnt 50 bags of maize inside a truck in Bangi, Mariga Local Government Area of Niger State.
Sources on Saturday, November 23, told Daily Trust that the victims had gone to bring the harvested maize home from their farm when the bandits ambushed them, k!lled all the occupants in the truck and set the truck.
Bandits have killed seven of our farmers who had gone to farm to bring the maize they had harvested home. The attackers hid and waited until after the victims had loaded the 50 bags of maize into the truck and were about to take off to return home when they opened fire on them. After k!lling the victims, they also set the truck and the 50 bags of maize already loaded ablaze,” a source said.
He said it was difficult for farmers in Mariga to harvest their crops this year due to k!llings and kidnappings by bandits.
The Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Auchi, most Rev. Dr. Gabriel Ghieakhomo Dunia announces the passing unto eternal glory of Rt. Rev. Monsignor Thomas Oleghe, at the Immaculate Conception Cathedral Auchi, during the solemnity of Christ the King
Rev. Monsignor is the oldest Catholic Priest in Nigeria.
Monsignor Oleghe death is very remarkable as the centenarian died during the feast of Christ the King.
The demise of the priest of the order of Melchizedek should be best described as (TRANSITION TO GLORY)
The National Examinations Council (NECO) has given accreditation to more foreign schools to write the Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) and the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE).
The Acting Director, Information and Public Relations, Mr. Azeez Sani, disclosed this in a statement.
The newly accredited schools are in Niger Republic and Equatorial Guinea.
“NECO Accreditation Team visited the Schools to assess their readiness to write the SSCE and BECE.
“The Accreditation Team inspected classrooms, laboratories, libraries, computer laboratories, workshops, examination halls and sport facilities to determine their adequacy and suitability for NECO Examinations.
“After a thorough evaluation and comprehensive assessment, the schools were granted full SSCE and full BECE accreditation status,” the statement said.
The statement added that the accreditation of additional foreign schools is a testament to NECO’s commitment to providing quality education and assessment beyond the shores of Nigeria.
“With its expanding global presence, NECO is poised to become a leading examination body in Africa, offering opportunities for students worldwide to benefits from its expertise, thus contributing to the advancement of education in Africa and beyond.”
In another development, the statement disclosed that candidates are participating in the on-going NECO SSCE External in Diffa, Niger Republic.
“The UNHCR School, Diffa, Niger Republic is the first NECO SSCE External Centre outside Nigeria.”
NECO examinations are now written by candidates in Benin Republic, Togo, Cote’ d’Ivoire, Niger Republic, Equatorial Guinea and Saudi Arabia.
Insecurity! Bandits k!ll 7 farmers, burn 50 bags of maize in Niger state
Party Crisis Escalates: PDP NEC Meeting Delayed for the Fourth Time
SAD! Roman Catholic Oldest Priest Monsignor Thomas Oleghe dies at 103
Just in: Terrorists ambush military truck, kill all soldiers on board
Nigerian Dancer, Korra Obidi Attacked with acid, stabbed on stage In UK
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