Oba Akintoye Adeoye, the Oluoke of Oke- Igbo is the President/Chairman of the Council of Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria (REDAN). In his interaction with journalists, he spoke about the excessive increase in the prices of cement and other building materials and the implications on Nigerians and economy. He also suggested the way out. DAYO AYEYEMI was there.

How will you respond to the increasing building materials cost in the country?

We felt it necessary to address the nation on the matter that is rapidly becoming a major challenge to housing delivery and infrastructure development in Nigeria — the escalating cost of cement and other critical building materials.

Over the past few months, the real estate and construction sectors have witnessed a troubling increase in the prices of essential building materials, particularly cement. As stakeholders who are directly involved in housing development across the country, our members are increasingly concerned about the implications of this development on ongoing and future housing projects.

From available industry data and market observations, the price of a 50kg bag of cement, which sold for about N7,500 in the last quarter of 2025, rose to between N9,000 and N10,000 at the beginning of 2026. Unfortunately, the price has continued to climb and is now selling between N11,500 and N15,000 in several parts of the country.

Does that have any implication on your activities and the real estate sector?

This sharp increase within such a short period has placed enormous pressure on developers and investors in the housing sector. Cement remains one of the most critical inputs in construction, accounting for a significant proportion of the overall cost of building houses. When the price of cement rises, the entire cost structure of housing development is affected.

In addition to cement, the cost of other construction inputs, such as iron rods and sand has also increased considerably. The combined effect of these rising costs is that developers are now facing serious financial pressures, which are already leading to delays in project delivery, scaling down of housing developments, and in some cases the suspension or abandonment of projects.

This situation is particularly worrisome when we consider the fact that Nigeria is already confronted with a significant housing deficit. Any development that further increases the cost of building houses will ultimately make homeownership even more difficult for millions of Nigerians.

We must also note that persistent increases in the cost of building materials can create unintended consequences within the construction industry. When costs rise beyond manageable levels, there is always the risk that some individuals may resort to the use of substandard materials in an attempt to cut costs, which can ultimately compromise the quality and safety of buildings.

What are you suggesting?

It is imperative that urgent steps are taken to address this growing challenge. On behalf of the Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria, I wish to respectfully call on the Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development and other relevant government institutions to urgently engage stakeholders in the building materials value chain with the aim of stabilizing the price of cement and other essential construction materials. We also appeal to cement manufacturers and other industry players to work collaboratively with government and stakeholders in order to ensure that the housing sector remains stable and capable of delivering affordable homes to Nigerians.

REDAN remains fully committed to supporting government initiatives aimed at addressing the housing deficit and expanding access to decent and affordable housing across the country. However, achieving this objective will require a stable and predictable environment, particularly in the pricing of critical building materials like cement and iron rods. I believe that through constructive dialogue, policy support, and cooperation among stakeholders, practical solutions can be found to address this challenge and safeguard the future of housing development in Nigeria.

How does this affect rent?

The issue of increasing prices of building materials and how it affects the developers or construction is not a distance away from rent, but they are not actually the same. I will give you an example. Due to my new office as a paramount ruler, I relocated to Ondo State. My wife relocated from Lagos also to Ondo State. She doesn’t want to stay here, so she wants to continue to do some business. We tried to get a place for her in Akure. We need a safe place for somebody that just left London to Lagos. So the best city in the whole of the Ondo State is Akure, the state capital. She needed a good place for her business. And I was so sure the best place in Akure cannot be more than N3 million. I never knew that I was a joker. In fact, the least that we have seen so far was priced at N8 million per annum. The same we will get at Ogba, Lagos. So, I never knew that Akure would be competing. But, when I faced with that reality, I also discovered it’s about supply and demand. The forces of demand and supply determine rents. So, the issue of supply starts with land acquisition. Forget about building materials and all, land acquisition, because every development is done on land. So, having purchased the land, we are not even sure that the land we purchased, when we move to a site we are going to use it. That is the number one problem. Number two problem is titling. As far as I will remember, I have not seen any state government in Nigeria that makes the issue of titling automatic. Not like what happens in the UK, in the US and other developed countries, that you apply in the corner of your room, while sleeping on your bed, you can process your title. While chatting with your friends, you can process your title. But, after two years, three years down the line, you are still facing the issue of titling in Nigeria. After titling, you are spending another two, three years chasing approval. So, to live as a developer is like you are a stranded person, you don’t need to have any business to do.

 

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Dayo Ayeyemi