FACT-CHECK: Did Dangote Make Plans to Slash Cement Price From 5500 to 2700 by October?

FACT-CHECK: Did Dangote Make Plans to Slash Cement Price From 5500 to 2700 by October?

CLAIM: Following the plans by BUA cement to lower the price of cement, a Facebook post which was largely attributed to Thunder Newspaper emerged online, claiming that Africa’s richest man Aliko Dangote has announced that he will slash the price of cement from N5500 to N2700 by October 2023.

FULL-TEXT: The claim has been massively shared and reposted on various social media ecosystems.

The post containing the claim reads, “BREAKING: Dangote crashes Cement Price from 5500 to 2700

“Aliko Dangote has announced the new price of Cement crash by 50%, from October 1st, from N5500 to #2700 [sic].”

Last week, BUA Cement Plc. revealed plans to reduce the price of cement in Nigeria from the current N5,500 to between N3,000 and N3,500.

The company’s Chairman, Abdul Samad Rabiu, disclosed this to Journalists after an audience with President Bola Tinubu at the State House, Abuja.

Rabiu said the price crash is part of his company’s contribution to supporting the efforts of the Federal Government to stabilise the prices of essential commodities.

VERIFICATION: An online check conducted by PRNigeria also indicated no reputable media published the report. 

However, the check revealed that Nairaland made a publication announcing the plan to slash cement prices by Dangote Group but it later took down the post. 

Deepening investigation, PRNigeria checked the social media accounts of Dangote Cement Manufacturing Company but there was no such announcement

In a reply to a media inquiry, Dangote Group’s spokesperson Anthony Chiejine has falsified the widely shared claim, saying “it was fake news.”

CONCLUSION: Based on the available facts gathered by PRNigeria, there was no official announcement by Dangote about slashing the cement price and the claim has also been debunked by the Company. 

PRNigeria therefore concludes that the claim that there was a plan by Dangote group to slash cement prices from 5500 to 2700 with effect from October 2023 is False. 

By PRNigeria