Di cost of cooking gas don skyrocket for Nigeria, with price jump from N1,500 per kilogramme to N2,500 for some areas, wey be 67 per cent increase. Dis one don make many families wey dey struggle to afford gas to turn back to charcoal and firewood.
According to report from The Guardian, di price hike don make monthly spending on gas rise from N224 billion to N362 billion. For Lagos, some retailers dey sell gas at N2,500 per kilogramme, while for Abuja and Kano, price dey around N1,700 and N1,800.
Residents across Lagos, Abuja, Ilorin, and other parts don complain say refilling cylinder don become hard. Adeola Akinyanju, wey dey Ejigbo, say she don use gas for over eight years, but now she dey plan before refill. She say, “Before, once gas finish, I go refill immediately. Now, I get to plan for am. Sometimes I delay refilling because other expenses come first. We still use gas, but we now keep charcoal as backup, especially for meals wey take longer to cook.”
Serah Ajiboye from Ilorin say she don resort to charcoal, wey dey cost N5,500 for 25 kilogrammes. Aisha Ibrahim for Mushin note say her household dey alternate between LPG and charcoal. She say, “I no like charcoal because of smoke and stress, but we no get much choice. Di cost of gas don seriously affect us. Many people for my area dey do di same thing, some dey even go back to firewood.”
Small businesses like food vendors dey suffer well well. Adebayo Kudirat, a food vendor for Mushin, explain say di increase don force her to rethink her cooking strategy. She say, “Gas still better because e dey faster and cleaner, but e dey expensive now. I use charcoal for foods wey take longer to cook and reserve gas for quick meals. Customers no always understand when prices go up, but cooking costs now be major issue.”
Di Nigerian Association of LPG Marketers (NALPGAM) don accuse refiners of distorting market. Dem also accuse Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) and Ardova Plc of hoarding product. Ardova deny di claim, while NNPC remain mum. A bulk LPG trader wey no want name mention say di situation be “survival-of-the-fittest market.” She say, “Depot owners import in dollars, but within days of arrival, prices fit adjust in a way wey make their products uncompetitive. That discourages imports.” She allege say some suppliers prioritise internal distribution over open market sales, wey tighten supply further.
Some marketers dey blame Dangote Refinery for di crisis, but Dangote Refinery clarify say supplying LPG to domestic market no be core aspect of their operations. Di company explain say LPG na by-product of refining process and dem dey upgrade am into higher-value derivatives. Dem say dem no position domestic LPG supply as central focus from inception.
Energy Economist Prof Wumi Iledare say di price spike dey reflect deeper structural issue for market. He say, “Declining imports, combined with insufficient domestic supply, don create supply gap wey dey drive up prices. If imports dey decline while domestic supply no dey enough to bridge di gap, di market dey simply signal supply imbalance. Scarcity raises prices.”
Di crisis dey undermine Nigeria’s push for clean energy adoption. Despite calls for government intervention, Iledare caution against blanket subsidies, urging government to focus on boosting domestic LPG production, maintaining competitive market environment, and removing bottlenecks across supply chain.
