The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, has attributed the recent rise in cooking-gas prices to a temporary disruption to loading and distribution during the strike by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria.

The Group Chief Executive of NNPCL, Mr Bayo Ojulari, disclosed this while speaking to State House correspondents on Sunday, after a meeting with President Bola Tinubu.

Ojulari said the industrial action halted operations for several days and produced an “artificial” spike in prices.

“The increase you saw was relatively artificial because for the period of the strike, movements and loading were delayed by about two, three days.

“And because of that, you see that impact. As things return back to normal, it takes some time for distribution to be fully restored,” he said.

The hike in price reportedly followed the PENGASSAN industrial action, which was launched over the dismissal of Nigerian workers at the Dangote Refinery and suspended on October 1 after federal government intervention.

Ojulari assured Nigerians that the cooking gas price is expected to ease in the coming weeks as supply chains stabilize.