BUA

By Sabiu Abdullahi 

AbdulSamad Rabiu, the Chairman of BUA Cement, has revealed that his company’s intention to sell cement at N3,500 per bag last year was thwarted by the actions of cement dealers. 

During the 8th Annual General Meeting held in Abuja, Rabiu stated that BUA Cement had sold over a million tons of cement to dealers at a price of N3,500 per bag, with the intention of passing the savings on to end-users.

However, he noted that dealers were selling each bag of cement to consumers for prices ranging from N7,000 to N8,000. 

Rabiu expressed frustration that the company’s policy was not being implemented as intended, saying, “So, a lot of the dealers took advantage of that policy. Rather than pass the low prices to the customers, they were selling at even double the price we sold to them.” 

He attributed the discontinuation of the policy to the company’s inability to regulate dealers, who were earning substantial profits due to high margins.

Rabiu also cited the challenges posed by the devaluation of the Naira and the removal of fuel subsidies last year, which made it difficult for the company to sustain the price policy. 

“We wanted that price to stay at that level, but dealers refused. So, we could not sustain that simply because we did not want to be in a situation where we are subsidizing dealers,” he said.

By Sabiu Abdullahi 

The BUA Group, despite recently slashing cement prices, has quietly increased the prices of sugar, flour, and spaghetti products, according to a recent market survey conducted in Kano.

Previously, a bag of sugar was sold at N44,000, spaghetti at N8,100 per carton, and flour at N32,500 per bag.

These prices have surged to N47,500, N9,000, and N34,500, respectively. 

Local shop owners confirmed the sudden price hikes, indicating that the increases followed the company’s announcement of reduced cement prices.

A BUA Foods dealer revealed, “They notified us about the increase this week. All these prices are company prices.” 

This unexpected shift has left consumers puzzled, as they had anticipated lower living costs after the cement price cut.

The BUA Group has not commented on the situation, leaving many awaiting an official response to understand the reasoning behind these price adjustments.

By Uzair Adam Imam

The BUA Group responded to the threat by the Kogi State Assembly to revoke the 500-hectare land allocated to the company a decade ago, saying the group is no longer interested in the land.

On Monday, the Kogi State House of Assembly summoned the cement firm to account for why it failed to pay the premium and other charges.

The assembly alleged that the company did not pay the charges despite being issued a certificate of occupancy

But, the management of the company, in a statement Tuesday, said the feasibility studies had shown that only about 30% of the entire land mass is suitable for their investment, while the rest (66%) consists of rocky, hilly and/or undulating areas.

The company also stated that the government had failed to provide infrastructure to make the area accessible, adding, “The land could also be reached by water.”

This is, however, coming amidst a crisis with the Dangote Group over the ownership of the Obajana cement plant in Kogi State.

The conflict deepened last weekend as the state government and Dangote Cement Plc continued to lay claims to the facility.