Residents Lament The Rising Cost Of Cooking Gas

Nigerians turn to charcoal and firewood due to rising cooking gas prices

Although cooking gas, also known as liquefied petroleum gas, has become increasingly expensive, some Nigerians have turned to utilizing charcoal in certain areas of the nation.

This coincides with the rising cost of charcoal due to increased demand, as some people are turning to firewood instead.

Residents were seen filling a 12.5 kg cooking gas cylinder with roughly N18,000 in Abuja, Kano, Lagos, and Jos.

According to the Nigerian Association of Liquefied Petroleum and Gas Marketers (NALGAM), based on the regular price increases, a 12.5 kg cylinder was expected to cost N18,000 last year.

In November of last year, the price of cooking gas per kilogram increased from roughly N700 to over N1,100. In response, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, formed a committee led by Farouk Ahmed, the Chief Executive of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), to provide suggestions on how to increase supply and bring down the price in a week.

Read: FG Waives The VAT And Customs Duty On LPG Imports

The cost of cooking gas has increased despite that guarantee; in some regions of the nation, a kilogramme is sold for N1,400. For a 12.5 kg cylinder, this equals 17,500.

The minister had enumerated the steps the government would take to lower the price of cooking gas during a stakeholders' consultative meeting in Abuja on February 6.

The domestication and penetration of LPG, he said, would be given top priority by the government in order to guarantee its availability and accessibility for consumers. Upstream gas production would also be increased in order to bridge the supply gap and enhance key economic sectors such as gas to power, Gas-Based Industries (GBIS), and gas for export.