Issues 7-day ultimatum for policy reversal

The new cement regulation policy recently introduced by the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has been described as ill-advised and a selective move calculated at creating an environment detrimental to the survival of cement manufacturers in Nigeria.

It is also considered a serious threat to the private sector which the Federal Government has been working assiduously to support in order to diversify the economy and create jobs.
These views were expressed by an interest group, Alliance Against Monopoly (AAM), at a press conference it organised in Lagos last week, addressed by its President, Mazi Omife I. Omife.

According to Omife, SON, through its Director-General, Dr. Joseph Odumodu, had on July 2014, given a 60-day ultimatum to cement manufacturers in Nigeria to comply with its new directive on product labeling and traceability, a move the group described as wrong-headed and designed to serve only the narrow interests of a section of the industry.

The AAM President said, “Conscious of our role as stakeholders in the cement industry and our desire to always ensure a level playing field for all cement manufacturers in Nigeria, it has become incumbent on us to call a spade a spade.

“We therefore state categorically that the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) 60-day ultimatum to cement manufacturers on product labeling and traceability requirement is wrong headed and designed to serve only the narrow interests of as cabal determined to foist monopoly in the nation’s cement industry.

“Such monopoly, if left unchallenged, will be detrimental to the Nigerian buying public and will ultimately stunt the growth of an otherwise vibrant cement market”, Omife stated.

Insisting that SON was not properly informed in taking the decision, the AAM boss observed that the overall interest of Nigerians did not appear to be SON’s priority in formulating the policy, as the industrial regulator did not show it was conscious of the negative impact of the policy on Nigerians.

SON had attributed the spate of building collapse across the country to the use of  the 32.5mpa cement grade for block-moulding and building construction and that only the 42.5mpa grade should be used for that purpose while the 32.5mpa is restricted to plastering.

Omife said the policy was questionable both in intent and implementation and noted that the 32.5mpa cement grade had widely been used in Nigeria since 1952 when cement production commenced in the country.

He also observed that majority of the private and public buildings in the country, including the high-rise Cocoa House in Ibadan, Oyo State; the National Assembly Complex in Abuja;  and the prestigious Oriental Hotel in Lagos, among numerous private residential houses in the urban and rural areas, were built with the 32.5mpa cement grade, and that they had remained solid till date.