FG Moves to Crash Price of Cooking Gas as Price Surges Above N1,000 Per Kg
- The Minister of State for Petroleum Resource (Gas) has constituted a committee to crash the price of cooking gas in Nigeria
- The minister said the committee has one week to come up with recommendations
- The minister blamed multinational firms for concentrating on the export of the product to the detriment of the local market
Pascal Oparada has over a decade of experience covering Tech, Energy, Stocks, Investments, and Economy.
Following the continued rise in the price of Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG), the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpo Ekop, has formed a committee with a directive to come up with recommendations on how to enhance supplies and crash the price of the commodity.
The committee headed by the Chief Executive of the Nigerian Midstream Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Farouk Ahmed, has one week to develop solutions.
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Minister moves to crash price of cooking gas from N1,100
The minister formed the committee at the end of a meeting to intervene in the challenges concerning the supply and pricing of cooking gas in Nigeria's domestic market.
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The development comes following the increase in price of cooking gas from N700 per kg to over N1,000 per kilogramme in some parts of Nigeria.
Crucial challenges identified as responsible for the increase in the product's price include foreign exchange sourcing and insufficient supply of the domestic market by producers.
According to a report by Leadership, the meeting was held in Abuja with officials of Chevron Nigeria and NMDPRA in attendance.
The minister expressed President Bola Tinubu's concerns over the rising price of commodities and the hardships of Nigerians.
The minister said multinational companies are more concerned with gas exports without dedicating vast amounts to the domestic market.
Ekpo said:
"With the exponential increase in the price of LPG, there is the need for the federal government to intervene, and I am representing this now. We acknowledge that some producers are exporting while we face importation challenges.
The development comes as the President of the Nigerian Association of Liquified Petroleum Gas Marketers (NALPGM), Olatubosun Oladapo, cautioned that 12.5kg of gas could rise to as much as N18,000 by December if the Nigerian government did not check the actions of terminal owners.
Marketers blame terminal operators for cooking gas price
Nigerians pay N1,000 for 1kg of gas, which they bought between N600 and N700 per kilogramme a few months ago.
Oladapo revealed that despite the retailers' meetings with the Nigerian government, more needs to be done as the commodity price rises, Legit.ng reported.
He revealed that retailers get 20 metric tons of gas for about N14 million at the depots.
He also said it now costs about N1.7 million to take gas from Lagos to the North due to the high cost of diesel.
In September, terminal operators hiked the price of cooking gas from N9 million to N10 million per 20 metric tons to the current N14 million.
Oladapo said there is a ridiculous price increase by the terminal operators. He also said if the government fails to intervene, the commodity's price may be out of the reach of many Nigerians.
He stated that terminal operators hide under the guise of high exchange rates to hike prices, thereby inflicting pain on consumers.
N1,000 per Kg: Nigerians lament increase in cooking gas price as country celebrates 63rd anniversary
Legit.ng earlier reported that Nigerians expressed dissatisfaction with the hike in the price of cooking gas.
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Those who bought cooking gas recently told Legit.ng they were unhappy with the increase in cooking gas prices and how hardship in Nigeria persists.
This is coming after Marketers of Liquefied Petroleum Gas warned that Nigerians may have to pay more for cooking gas in the months ahead.
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Source: Legit.ng
