Consumers of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), popularly called cooking gas have raised the alarm over the skyrocketing price of the commodity which seems to have defied all solutions.
Expressing their anger in separate interviews with Daily Sun at the weekend, a frustrated consumer who identified herself as Mrs. Esther Aboyede, said the average cost of 12.kg of cooking gas had risen from N10, 000 to N12,500.
Another consumer, Mr. Tunji Adekola, said the galloping cost of cooking gas in recent months has left much to be desired.
Adekola said despite Nigeria having more gas than oil, the citizens have been further impoverished with more Nigerians pushed below the poverty net and cannot afford to use gas anymore fot cooking.
He recalled that many years ago, a 12.5kg of cooking gas sold at N3, 500 but that it has gradually moved up to N5,000, N7,500, 8,500 and now sells between 12,500 and N14,000, depending on the location
According to him, the development has left some Nigerians resorting to the use of dirty fuels including; firewood, sawdust and kerosene among other unhealthy means of cooking considered dangerous to health.
The rise in the cost of cooking gas was equally confirmed by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in its ‘‘Cooking Gas Price Watch’’ for September 2023 released recently in Abuja.
The report said the average price of for refilling a 12.5kg cooking gas increased by 0.58 per cent on a month-on-month basis from N9, 194.41 in August 2023 to N9,247.40 in September 2023.
On State profile analysis, the report showed that Kwara recorded the highest average price at N4,866.60 for 5kg cooking gas, followed by Benue at N4,789.26 and Adamawa at N4,785.71.
Meanwhile, the President of the Nigerian Association of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers (NALPGAM), Mr. Oladapo Olatunbosun, has therefore warned that prices could reach between N1200 and N1500 per kg by December 2023, if the Federal Government fails to call importers and off-takers to order.
‘’If the indiscriminate price fixing by LPG producers, importers, and terminal owners is not curbed, a kilogram of cooking gas could soon be sold for between N1200 and N1500,’’.
The marketers revealed that the soaring prices are a cause for concern for many Nigerians, especially for those who rely on cooking gas for their daily cooking needs. They noted that patronage at some of the gas plants across the country is dropping on a daily basis due to price hike as people seek unhealthy alternatives.
The marketers further stated that the cost of cooking gas at the terminals in Lagos, Port Harcourt and Delta has skyrocketed, reaching an all-time high of N14,000,000 per 20MT.
In Lagos, the prices vary in different parts of the state, with prices ranging from N650 to N900 per kg.
For example, in Victoria Island and Lekki Ajah axis, it is between N850 and N900 per kg, while in Ikorodu, Abule Egba, and Ikeja the LPG per kilogram price stood at N800 and N850.
In Abuja, the price increased from N680 per kilogram to between N850 and N900 per kg, while in Port Harcourt, it ranges from N800 to N900 per kg, and in Kano State, 1 kg prices vary from N950 to N1000 depending on the depot.
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