NUPENG Laments as Cooking Gas Price Rises Again

The Liquefied Petroleum Gas Retailers Branch of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas workers on Wednesday raised the alarm over the recent rise in price of Liquefied Petroleum Gas, popularly called cooking gas, saying the price for refilling 12.5kg cylinder has risen to N8,500 from N7,500 two weeks ago in Lagos and neighbouring states.

NUPENG said in a statement, “Similarly, in parts of northern Nigeria, Southeast and South-South, the price has risen to N9,000-N9,500 from N8,000-N8,500.

“Prices at the depots have similarly risen to about N11 million for 20 metric tons from N10 million and less sold about two weeks ago.”

According to the association, the worrisome aspect of this development is that it has continued to rise on a daily basis for weeks now but began to escalate in the last one week, leading to significant increases in both depots and retail outlets.

“A similar price rise occurred in 2021 leading to the sale of 12.5kg gas for up to N10,000 in late November and early December 2021 amidst supply shortages,” it said.

The retailers expect the government to come up with a clear policy direction for the development of LPG in the country to forestall the ugly situation.

“LPG as a clean energy has steadily been embraced by low income earning Nigerians in the last seven years against previous years when it was seen as the preserve of the rich,” it said.

They recalled that between December 2020 and early months of 2021, the government launched a gas expansion programme aimed at making LPG available to all Nigerian homes and expanding the use of gas for other purposes such as automobile and public/private electric generation

 

March 18, 2022