Group urges FG to insist on 42.5 cement grade
Experts and stakeholder groups unanimously, yesterday, attributed the stiff resistance to cement standardisation in the country to greed and profiteering of some selfish people.
National President of Nigerian Block Makers Association, Alhaji Rasheed Adebowale, through whom the allegation was made during a stakeholders’ forum in Lagos, warned that the insistence by some cement manufacturers in the country on producing lower grades of cement was driven by their desire to maximise their profits at the expense of the lives of Nigerians.
A statement from Dangote Group said while absolving the block makers of being culpable for building collapse in the country, urged all cement manufacturers to upgrade the quality of cement they produce from the lower 32.5 cadre to 42.5 grade, in the in the interest of safety of human lives.
Adebowale, who was a member of the technical committee set up by the Standards Organizations of Nigeria (SON) to review cement standards in the country, urged the government and other stakeholders to move beyond rhetoric and unnecessary politicking by coming out with a definitive upgraded standard for cement in the country.
Also speaking at the forum, the Lagos State Chairman of the Block Makers Association, Alhaji Okunola Abegunde, loathed the idea of placing the responsibility of failed structures in the country on block makers.
In his presentation, the Group Managing Director of Dangote Cement, DVG Edwin, expressed regrets over the massive misinformation of facts, wondering why some manufacturers will intentionally discredit the higher cement grade, just for the purpose of maximizing their profits.