THERE is growing concern over the rising cost of cooking gas, with a kilogramme now selling for between N1,000 and N1,200 in some parts of the country.
There are also concerns that the price may climb further due to product scarcity, which marketers attribute to supply disruption.
Checks across Lagos State yesterday showed that while 12.5 kilogrammes of cooking gas is sold for N12,000 at some retail stations, a kilogramme was sold for N1,150 and N1,200 in Lagos outskirts like Mowe, Ibafo and Magboro, among others, along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway in Ogun State.
In parts of Lagos Mainland, cooking gas yesterday sold for N1,100/kg from N750/kg it was sold last week with some of the retail stations out of stock.
This has caused many families and businesses to express concern over the price hike.
In Kano metropolis, there were queues at major gas stations visited.
While some vendors were selling a kilogramme for N880, others were selling at N950 and N1,000 as against N750 it was previously sold.
The situation is said to have forced many households in the state to resort to the use of charcoal.
Vendors attributed the hike to the high cost of transportation occasioned by the high cost of diesel.
Speaking on the situation, Kano State Secretary of the Liquefied Petroleum Gas Retailers of Nigeria (LIPGAR), Muhammad Omede stated that “the difficulties usually encountered by transporters due to poor road network, especially the Lagos-Kano road” was mostly responsible for the spike in price.
Meanwhile, the president of the Nigerian Association of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers (NALGAM), Oladapo Olatunbosun, in a chat with Daily Trust, called on the federal government to be proactive in checking the price increase.
He blamed the scarcity of gas in some parts of Lagos on supply disruption, saying the vessel that was supposed to offload in the state had not done so.
“Information at our disposal reveals that Nigerians are facing hard times getting the product,” he noted.
He warned that the price of 12.5kg of cooking gas might soon hit N18,000 if the federal government failed to check the rising cost.
He said the volume marketers used to buy for N8 million is now sold for N14.5 million.
Olatunbosun said the price would continue to go up as long as marketers are buying the product at an exorbitant rate adding that concerted effort must be made to ensure the product remains affordable to the common man.
“Go to the North and the far East and see what people are facing. In some places, they are buying at N1,300 per kg because the cost of buying at the terminal has gone up at a very high rate. As of today, terminals are selling for N14.5 million what used to be about N8 million and N8.5 million.
“The supply has also been somehow epileptic. The vessel from NLNG went to Port Harcourt twice and that is the reason why there is delay in Lagos. The vessel came back to Lagos two days ago. They just offloaded it and the quantity it brought was not that substantial. We are expecting it back in about a week.
“So, we are using this opportunity to call on the Federal Government of Nigeria, particularly the new Minister of Gas, to pay attention to LPG. LPG is a product that can serve all Nigerians, both the young and the old; everybody who needs gas.
“And for the fact that the fuel subsidy removal is biting hard on people, electricity is not regularly supplied, people do not have any other means to cook than gas; it is now becoming what they cannot afford and it therefore means our forest will suffer for it.
“So, we need to look into the supply, and what is the price that is coming to the market? What prices are they selling at? What is really behind the hiked price and what role can the government play? Is it the role of intermediaries? Is it the role of the middlemen? What is actually causing the high price?
According to him, while some people blame the hike on the forex crisis, there is an element of profiteering in it.
“This is where the government has to beam its searchlight and caution all the players and also have a regular meeting with the terminal operators and off-takers on how we can protect Nigerians.
“The poor Nigerians are suffering; gas is getting out of the reach of Nigerians and it is not making life easy for anybody.
“We are not happy about that. As businessmen, we are suffering the cost of buying and the cost of doing business has also gone up. And the product is not all that available.
“So, while the government is tackling regular supply, it also needs to work on the major suppliers, the off-takers, so that a little of profiteering should be downplayed now to protect the poor Nigerians so that gas can be affordable.”
