Gas merchants have issued a warning that if the Federal Government does not impose restrictions on the terminal owners’ operations, the price of 12.5kg of cooking gas may rise to N18,000 by December.
The price of liquefied petroleum gas, also known as cooking gas, has “gone astronomically high at terminals as a result of a sudden increment from between N9-N10m per 20 metric tonnes to N14m per 20 metric tonnes, according to Olatunbosun Oladapo, president of the Nigerian Association of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers.
“Gas prices are absurdly rising right now, and if the Federal Government does not intervene to restrain the actions of these terminal owners, the price may reach N18m per metric tonne by December. Therefore, a 12.5 kg might cost as much as N18,000.
He claimed that the proprietors of the terminals were “hiding under the guise of high foreign exchange to increase price to further increase the suffering of the masses.”
Olatunbosun claimed that as Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas Limited continued to supply the market, there was no justification for the increase.
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He stated, “NLNG has raised its pricing from N6 million to N8 million, but NNPCL still purchases 59% of the gas produced by NLNG. NNPCL and the port owners have now raised the price to N14m as a result of NLNG’s price rise.
“Retailers are not to blame for the price increase that would go into effect. Both NLNG and the terminal owners are at fault. Even NNPCL is hiding to raise prices under the pretence that they have been privatised. 1kg cost N800 at the terminal as of last week; it is now N1,200 and, if caution is not exercised, could rise to N1,500 by December.
The common guy would no longer be able to purchase petrol, he said. How many people on minimum income can currently afford petrol? Everyone is using charcoal and wood for their fires. The unexpected thing was that they committed to collaborate with President Tinubu’s administration to improve lives when they met him last week. They returned and have since begun working on something new. Where are all the buses and palliatives they said they would donate? Nothing has been spotted by us.
In August, The PUNCH had reported that there would be a price increase for cooking gas. Since then, prices have skyrocketed, with a 12.5 kilogramme cylinder of cooking gas selling for much to N10,000.
Although there was no obvious affiliation of gas terminal operators, Friday Agwu from NavGas and Askay Kumar from Nipco Plc both blamed the increase on foreign exchange and the global market.
“Nobody is selling at N1,200 per kilogramme. I haven’t heard of such a high pricing yet,” Kumar said in a telephone interview with Foxiz Nigeria on Sunday. When asked how much the landing cost, he chose not to answer.
Friday attributed the price increase to currency fluctuations and the rise in crude oil prices on the global market.
“Flat price increase, forex challenges, and LPG responding to crude price increase at the international market.”
