As Nigeria’s struggle with the high cost of petrol, the price of Liquefied Petroleum Gas, also known as cooking gas, has also increased to N1,500/kg.
But the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of NIPCO Plc, Suresh Kumar, said the Dangote refinery and other domestic refineries would bring down the price of cooking gas, expressing concerns that over 60 per cent of cooking gas consumed in Nigeria is being imported.
Checks by our correspondent confirmed that the prices of cooking gas peaked at N1,500/kg in some retail outlets in Ogun and Lagos States as of Sunday.
In Abuja, the average price for refilling a 12.5kg cylinder of cooking gas has increased by 41.6 per cent to N17,000 in different areas.
The PUNCH reports that the same commodity sold for N12,000 in July and N11,735 in January 2024.
This sharp price rise reflects ongoing trends in the market and may have implications for consumers, many of whom rely on LPG for their daily cooking needs.
In August, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, promised to ensure a reduction in the rising cost of a kilogram of cooking gas.
Ekpo noted that he would invite the regulators and the gas producers to find ways to bring down the cost.
However, a new market survey conducted by our correspondent on Sunday revealed that the price has not decreased; instead, it has risen even further.
An analysis showed that the product currently sells for N17,000 in Lokogoma area of the FCT, an increase of 41.6 per cent from N12,000 vendors sold to customers three months ago. This means one kilogram of gas was sold for N1,400.
In Kubwa, the product was sold between N16,200 and N16,500 from N12,000 previously charged. But in the outskirt area of Bwari, Kurudu and Jikwoyi, the product sold for N1,300.
Some major distributors still sell the product between N1,300 and N1,400 depending on the location.
The Commissioner for Environment in Ogun State, Ola Oresanya, once told one of our correspondents that many might resort to charcoal for cooking if the price of LPG continues to rise.
However, speaking at the just-concluded National Conference of the Nigerian Association of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers 2024, held in Lagos, Kumar, revealed that local production of LPG remains inadequate, urging the Federal Government to encourage Chevron to convert more of its propane output into propane.
THE PUNCH
