By Jelili Gbadamosi
The rising cost of cement and other building materials is worsening Nigeria’s housing crisis and contributing to the sharp increase in house rents across the country, a housing expert, Aliyu Wammakko, has said.
Wammakko, a former President of the Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria, REDAN, called on the Federal Government to urgently intervene by reducing taxes and levies on cement manufacturers and introducing incentives to lower production costs.
He spoke in an interview with DAILY POST on Friday.
According to him, the price of a 50kg bag of cement, which stood at about N7,500 in March 2025, has risen to approximately N13,000 and continues to increase.
Wammakko explained that the rising cost of construction had placed developers under pressure, with the burden eventually transferred to tenants through higher rents.
“The most nagging issue today in Nigeria is the price of building materials,” he said.
He said Nigerians should not blame landlords entirely for the increase in rents, arguing that property owners and developers also face the same high cost of construction materials in the market.
“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,” he added.
The housing expert said the situation was making home ownership increasingly difficult for ordinary Nigerians while widening the country’s housing deficit.
Wammakko urged the Federal Government to reduce the multiple taxes and levies associated with cement production, arguing that such measures would enable manufacturers to sell at more affordable prices.
He also advocated subsidies and other incentives for cement producers as part of efforts to reduce the overall 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.
Wammakko further called for increased government funding for the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria to provide Nigerians with access to affordable housing finance.
He proposed that at least N1 trillion should be channelled into the Federal Mortgage Bank to support affordable construction and help address the country’s housing deficit.
He also urged the government to sign the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Bill, popularly known as the RECON Bill, which was passed by the 9th National Assembly.
He maintained that a combination of cheaper building materials, accessible mortgage financing and stronger regulation would help reduce the cost of housing and ease the pressure on rents.
