Can Tinubu explain why Nigerian cement is cheaper abroad than at home?

First half of the article

DOES President Bola Tinubu know that Alhaji Aliko Dangote says the cement he exports from Nigeria is cheaper than the cement he sells to Nigerians at home? If he does, has anyone in his government satisfactorily explained to him why? We, the people, demand an explanation.

These questions have become necessary following disturbing findings by the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC). After a three-month cross-border investigation, the Commission says its preliminary findings suggest possible manipulation of cement prices in Nigeria. It compared Nigeria with Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa, Egypt, Morocco and Algeria, examining limestone availability, population, production capacity, consumption and retail prices. This deserves urgent attention. Readers will therefore permit this necessary digression from the electricity-sector series we began last week.

Our advantage begins beneath our feet

Limestone is not a scarce mineral in Nigeria. Commercial deposits occur across the country’s sedimentary basins, including the Benue Trough, Dahomey Basin and Sokoto Basin, supporting major cement-producing centres from Ogun and Cross River to Benue, Gombe and Sokoto states. The Nigerian Geological Survey Agency estimates the country’s limestone resources at about 10.6 billion tonnes, including 568 million tonnes of proven reserves.

Nigeria therefore possesses enormous domestic reserves of the principal raw material for cement production. Our installed cement-production capacity exceeds 60 million metric tonnes annually, against estimated domestic consumption of approximately 25–30 million tonnes. Nigeria consequently possesses substantial excess installed capacity and is a net exporter of cement to other African countries. Ordinarily, abundant raw materials, substantial excess production capacity and competition among producers should exert downward pressure on prices. Instead, the opposite appears to be happening.

Will somebody explain the price disparities?

According to the FCCPC, a 50kg bag of cement selling for between ₦9,300 and ₦9,700 in January 2026 had risen to ₦10,500–₦13,000 by mid-year and ₦13,000–₦15,000 in some locations by July.Now consider what consumers elsewhere in Africa are paying. Among the comparative prices published by the FCCPC, a bag sells for approximately ₦7,344 in Kenya, ₦6,528 in Tanzania and ₦9,180 in Togo. How does this make economic sense, especially when Nigeria itself is a net exporter of cement?

The FCCPC is therefore right to investigate whether these prices result entirely from legitimate production costs or whether coordinated behaviour, abuse of market power, restriction of domestic supply or anti-competitive distribution practices are involved. Three major producers reportedly account for more than 90 percent of Nigeria’s installed cement-production capacity. Such concentration does not establish collusion, but it makes vigorous competition regulation indispensable.

Dangote’s tax explanation

Alhaji Aliko Dangote has provided an explanation that President Tinubu’s government should take seriously. In December 2025, during an interview with Business Insider Africa, Dangote argued that cement exported from Nigeria could be sold more cheaply because exports escape some domestic taxes and levies. He specifically mentioned 30 percent company income tax, two percent education levy, one percent health levy, 7.5 percent VAT and 10 percent withholding tax, arguing that avoiding these burdens enables exported Nigerian cement to compete with products from Turkey, Russia and China.

Dangote’s argument deserves interrogation.

Nigeria implemented major tax reforms from January 2026. The reforms were advertised as simplifying taxation, eliminating multiplicity, improving the business environment and reducing distortions. Some of the taxes and levies Dangote identified in December 2025 have since been altered or consolidated. Moreover, company income tax is imposed on taxable profits, VAT operates differently from income tax, and withholding tax is principally a tax-collection mechanism. They cannot simply be added together as though every percentage represents an additional tax directly imposed on the production cost of each bag of cement.

So, what is the actual tax burden?

Questions for Tinubu’s cabinet members

Is Dangote’s explanation still correct under the new tax regime? Mr Taiwo Oyedele, who led Tinubu’s tax-reform programme before becoming Finance Minister, should tell us. How much tax is actually embedded in a 50kg bag of cement? NRS Chairman Dr Zacch Adedeji should publish the…

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