The price of cooking gas has surged to an all-time high of N1,000 per kilogram (kg) from N750.
This is as experts warned that the current shortage could lead to a full-blown crisis if not urgently addressed.
The sudden surge in price has been attributed to the intersection of many factors, such as the weak naira, limited bulk storage, and scattered terminals across Lagos, Edo, Delta, and Cross Rivers.
Findings revealed that long queues for cooking gas at filling stations have resurfaced in some parts of Lagos, Ogun as consumers find it difficult to purchase the product.
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Also, it was revealed that the scarcity of vessels to transport the product in the international market has influenced the cost of chartering vessels, and the projection that the coming winter will drive prices up.
According to the President Nigerian Association of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers (NALPGAM), Olatunbosun Oladapo there was a possibility of a surge in the price of cooking gas due to the hike in the foreign exchange rate and activities in the international market.
Oladapo stated that rising international prices, high tax rates, prices of vessels, forex scarcity, and naira devaluation were some of the reasons for the price review.
He said:
“Yes, the price is now N1,000 per kilogram but the government is yet to step in despite a meeting we had with the NMDPRA.
“We still buy a 20 MT truck at N14m at the depots. And the price of diesel has increased and it now costs N1.7m to take gas from Lagos to the North due to the high cost of diesel. If we sell here at N1,000 per 1kg, just imagine how much it would cost in the Middle East and North.
“What we pray for is for prices to come down so that the ordinary masses can benefit from the decade of gas policy of the Federal Government that seeks to make gas accessible and affordable for the common man.”
