Cooking gas price skyrockets by 22.2%

Efforts by the Federal Government to deepen the use of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), popularly called cooking gas through the National LPG Expansion and Implementation (NLEIP) appears to have suffered a major setback as the price of the commodity has risen by 22.2 per cent.

This was even as stakeholders expressed concern that the price of 12.5 kilogramme (KG) may hit N10,000 by December.

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, had last June, expressed concern that over  900,000 people are negatively impacted annually from the use of kerosene, firewood and charcoal in cooking across Nigeria.

Daily Sun findings across cooking gas plants within the Lagos metropolis revealed a sharp increase of about N1, 000 within the last one week.

A 12.5 kilogramme cylinder of cooking gas which costs about N4,500 as at last week is now being sold for N5, 500, representing a rise of 22.2 per cent.

Some of the consumers who spoke to Daily Sun in separate interviews expressed frustration over the development, saying the average man on the street will be the most impacted.

They said a situation where the price of cooking gas increased by N1,000 within one week calls for concern, saying they are not sure of what the price would be by next week.

A food vendor in Ogba, Lagos, said she has no choice than to factor in the cost into her selling price, saying a plate of rice which cost about N300 per plate will have to increase by N50 to N100 should the situation not improve.

Some of the stakeholders within the LPG value chain, who spoke to Daily Sun, blamed the skyrocketing price of cooking gas on foreign exchange, rising price of crude oil in the international market and inadequate allocation of LPG into the domestic market by Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Limited.

But the Managing Director of NLNG, Mr. Tony Attah,  had said that it was meeting about 40 per cent of the demand for the domestic LPG market with the supply of about 370,000 metric tonnes (MT) of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) to the domestic market in 2020 and plans to  increase its supply to the domestic market from 350,000MT annually to 450,000MT to meet the growing consumer demand.

Executive Secretary, Nigerian Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers (NALPGAM), Mr. Bassey Essien, said the weak exchange rate of the Dollar to the Naira remained a major factor responsible for the rising cost of cooking gas, warning that should the Naira continue on a free fall, cooking gas price may hit N10,000 for 12.5kg by December.