POLITICS
Reps Joint Committee Probes Dangote, Lafarge over Rising Price of Cement

The Joint Committee of the House of Representatives investigating arbitrary rise of cement price in the country has asked major producers in the industry to tender documents on cost production to justify the price of cement in the market.
The committee resolved to visit production plants of the companies after going though their books to ascertain the cost of production with a view to determine a fair price of cement for all Nigerians.
The Chairman of the joint committee, Rep.
Jonathan Gaza (APC-Nasarawa) made the demand on Friday at a public hearing while quizzing Dangote Cement Company and Lafarge Africa PLC in Abuja.He said that the committee is interested in the cost of production from 2020 to date that justified the current price of cement which is over N10,000 in most parts of the country.
He said that the companies should give its average daily consumption of coal, gas, gypsum, limestone, clay, laterite and the average daily production of cement from 2020 to date.
Gaza said that the companies should provide details of all imported components for the production of cement and their prices from
2020 to date.
The lawmaker said that the companies should also provide details of local components for the production of cement and their prices in naira and dollars, if any, in the period under review.
He said that the companies should provide a summary of the monthly prices and quantity of cement produced from 2019 to date as well as their audited accounts of the company, bills of laden and duties paid to customs within the period under review.
Gaza also said that the companies should provide details of tax waivers and other incentives enjoyed plus gas and explosives contract details.
Rep. Dabo Ismail (APC-Bauchi state), a member of the committee, said that Dangote Cement Company had continued to make increasing profits in the country despite being able to source most of its raw materials locally.
He said that in 2022, the company declared a profit of N524 billion, N553 billion in 2023 and had so far made N166.4 billion in 2024.
The lawmaker said that there is no reason why the price of cement would keep rising in the market to the detriment of Nigerians while producers are smiling to he banks.
Earlier, the Group Managing Director (GMD) of Dangote Cement Company, Mr Arvind Pathack, had said that 95 per cent of production cost are either imported or linked to forex.
He explained that there had been,between 100 to 333 per cent increase in the price of major cement input materials like gas, AGO, gypsum, imported coal, spare parts, new trucks, tyres, petrol among others.
Pathack said that the company is made to pay in dollars, some of its contracts to access gas and explosives, saying that the provision made by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) was not enough to meet demand, so they engage in international sales also source from the parallel market.
According to him, logistics issues such as deplorable state of key roads, create several issues including longer time to deliver, increase in truck maintenance and delivery cost.
The GMD explained that lack of sufficient forex to settle trade obligations had resulted to huge forex losses to a tune of N150 billion per annum, while paying 30 per cent interest rate on loans.
He said between May 2023 and June 2024, there has been over 220 per cent devaluation of the Naira among many other challenges like insecurity and public power supply.
Pathack said that the cost of building materials like reinforcement, granite and aluminum window had increased by 177 per cent to 283 per cent while cement had increase by 166 per cent between 2023 and 2024.
He said that cement was being sold at an average cost of 7,200, saying that any price over N10,000 was the handwork of retailers which the company had no control over.
According to him, when converted to dollars a bag of cement is sold at $7.8 dollars in Benin, $6.6 in Togo, $7.8 in Ghana, $4.4 in India while that of Nigeria is $4.43, making it one of the cheapest in Africa.
The committee admonished the companies to look into their policies and operations with a view to reduce the price of cement in the country.
In an interview with newsmen, the chairman of the committee expressed hope that the engagement would lead to a reduction in the price of cement.
He blamed the high price of the commodity on the inaction of Federal Competition Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC).
Gaza said that as an agency responsible for the protection of consumers, they failed to protect Nigerians against middlemen who sold the commodity for as high as N14,000 after purchasing it for N6,000 at the factory.
“We are extremely hopeful that this engagement will lead to a reduction in the price of cement.
“FCCPC has slept on their functions so far, their inactivity and non-responsiveness to price is what has put Nigeria where we are today,” he said. (NAN)
POLITICS
INEC Yet to Set Date for CVR Resumption- Official

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced that no date has been set for the resumption of Continuous Voter Registration (CVR).The commission also clarified that there is no schedule for the transfer and replacement of lost Permanent Voter’s Cards (PVCs) at this time.
This clarification was made by INEC’s Chief Press Secretary, Rotimi Oyekanmi, via the commission’s official X (formerly Twitter) account on Sunday. Oyekanmi also urged the public to disregard fake, anonymous statements circulating online claiming that the services would resume on May 27.He emphasised that the commission would make an official announcement about the resumption date through its verified channels at the appropriate time.(NAN)POLITICS
I Ran As Atiku’s Running Mate Against The Will of My People, says Okowa

By Mike Odiakose, Abuja
Barely twenty-four hours after he formally defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC), former Delta State Governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, has confessed that he ran as the vice-presidential candidate alongside Alhaji Atiku Abubakar in the 2023 presidential election against the will of his people.
The former goveror admitting that his joint ticket with Atiku contradicted the zoning arrangement, power rotation and wishes of his people.
Speaking on Arise Television, Okowa described his acceptance of the role as a misalignment with the prevailing sentiments in Delta State — an issue he said he has deeply reflected upon.
He said, “Even when we were campaigning, I realised our people were not interested in having another northerner come into power.
“But the decision had already been taken at the federal level by the party (PDP) and I had been nominated. Still, in retrospect, I now believe I should have gone with the will of my people.”
He also fired back at former Senate President Bukola Saraki for criticising his defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Okowa has been harvesting negative comments from Nigerians since his defection from the PDP after benefiting immensely from the party since 1999.
Okowa, former presidential running mate to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar of the PDP in the 2023 general elections, said that Saraki lacks the moral standing to comment on or criticise his defection.
“I did not expect that someone like Senator Bukola Saraki should be able to speak concerning me, because he knows that he had also moved to APC before and eventually returned,” Okowa said.
“So he has had movement to and fro. So, I don’t think that he has the moral right to even speak about my defection at all.”
Okowa explained that the decision to defect was not taken lightly and was a collective resolution by key political figures in Delta State.
He said it was necessitated by internal crises and a lack of strategic direction within the PDP.
“Several things have been going on in the party. While I do not want to join issues with people, as stakeholders, our leaders in this state have sat down to look at the events in the last several months,” Okowa noted.
“Because of the events that we see and the communications coming out from the leadership of the PDP at the moment, it did not appear to us that that was a proper political vehicle for us to continue in.”
He further pointed to the PDP governors’ resistance to forming a coalition and the ongoing leadership crisis as clear signs that the opposition party is not prepared for serious political competition ahead of the 2027 general elections.
NEWS
PDP Mocks Gov Okpebholo Over Endless Suspension of Gov’t Officials

By Mike Odiakose, Abuja
Edo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has taken Governor Monday Okpebholo to the cleaners over serial suspension of top government official over alleged “financial infractions.”
In a statement signed by Chris Osa Nehikhare
Publicity Secretary,
Edo PDP Caretaker Committee, the party described the serial suspensions as “a tragicomic drama stuck on replay” without any Credible investigation.
The PDP stressed that Governor Okpebholo’s tenure has become synonymous with a string of headline-grabbing suspensions of his top cabinet members—each more bewildering than the last.
“The latest in this parade of purges is Dr. Caulson Osoikhia Oahimire, Executive Secretary of the Edo State Primary Healthcare Development Agency, suspended over alleged “grave financial infractions.”
“Since assuming office, Okpebholo has embarked on an unrelenting spree of suspensions, throwing one official after another under the bus—often amid sensational accusations of corruption and misconduct.
“Yet, in all this noise, Edo people have seen no credible investigations, no legal conclusions, no public accountability—only whispers of quiet reinstatements through the backdoor.
“From his own Commissioner for Justice and Chief Law Officer, Samson Osagie, to the Chairman of the Local Government Service Commission, Mr. Damian Lawani; the Head of the Public Safety Response Team, Kelly Okungbowa; the Commander of the State Security Corps, Friday Ibadin; the CEO of FEWMA, Ahmed Momoh; and now Dr. Oahimire—the list reads like a script from a badly managed soap opera. What we are witnessing is not governance—it is chaos masquerading as reform.
“Edo people are left asking: Is this simply a case of a workman constantly quarrelling with his tools? Or did Okpebholo knowingly assemble a team riddled with questionable characters—people who see public office not as a platform for service, but as a shortcut to self-enrichment?
“What is clear is that this endless cycle of suspensions has laid bare a troubling reality: either the Governor is completely out of his depth and incapable of managing his own appointees, or he is overseeing an administration deeply compromised by rot, failure, and corruption.
“If these appointees were handpicked or imposed by his party’s power brokers, the time has come for Okpebholo to take full responsibility.
“He must clean house—decisively—and assemble a new cabinet built on competence, integrity, and a genuine commitment to the progress of Edo State.
“Enough of the drama. Edo deserves serious, focused, and transparent leadership.”