Speaking about the increase in cement costs, David Iweta, National Chairman of the Cement Producers Association of Nigeria, claimed that while Nigeria only has three cement companies—Dangote, Lafarge, and Bua—Egypt has 51 cement facilities. He maintained that various businesses that received operating licenses under Yar’adua’s administration ought to have been included in the Nigerian cement industry. He said that these enterprises received permission from the Yar’adua regime to import 500,000 metric tons of cement apiece. But he bemoaned the fact that powerful people in the cement sector obstructed the plan’s execution.
He said in an interview with Channels TV, ”Countries with economies with lesser population than Nigeria in terms of Egypt and South Africa have many cement factories. Egypt has 51 cement factories but Nigeria has just 3 which are Dangote, Lafarge & Bua. But as it were it before, it ought to have been Dangote, Lafarge, Bua, Madewell, Reagan, Nicaa, Minaj, Lababidi, and Gateway.
These were companies that the then government of Yar’adua gave licenses to import 500,000 metric tonnes of cement each. And this was scuttled by one of us who is a big player that this should not work. They wrote a petition to the ministry of finance to stop all six that were given licenses by the Yar’adua government.”
