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By Vivian Onyebukwa
The rising cost of liquefied petroleum gas, otherwise known as cooking gas, is becoming alarming for the average Nigerian.
The liquefied petroleum gas, which is used for cooking in most households, has witnessed spiral price increase in the last few months. As at the end of January 2022, a kilogram of cooking gas cost N700. So, it cost N1,400 to fill 2kg. Findings showed that at Ijegun, a gas station on Community Road sold 1kg of gas at N850 which, was sold at N600 few weeks ago. Also, a gas plant along Ijegun-Ikotun Road as the time of filing this report, sold 3kg for N2,500, 4kg for N3,300, 5kg for N4,000, and 6kg N5,000. Others prices were 7kg for N5,800, 8kg, N6,500; 9kg, N7,300; 10kg, N8,000; 11kg, N9,000; 12kg, N10,000; 15kg N12,000, and 20kg, N16,000. Investigation also shows that in some parts of the country, 12.5kg cylinder goes for N12,000.
How families cope with escalating cost of cooking gas?
“I don’t have an option. I wanted to go and buy stove and I was told that kerosene is more expensive. I tried using electric cooker, and I discovered that it runs fast. It consumes electricity very fast, and because I use a pre-paid meter, I stopped using it. I can’t use charcoal in someone’s house as a tenant. Moreover, I live upstairs. Had it been I live downstairs, I would have explored the charcoal or firewood option if the landlord permits. The only measure I use to survive the high cost is to watch what I cook. For instance, I have not cooked beans for some time now. When I need hot water, I boil with a boiler if there is electricity supply,” Agatha Nnadi, a nurse, told Saturday Sun.
Narrating her own ordeal, Iyabo Ogunsanya, a trader at Ikeja, Lagos, said: “I bought 12kg at N7,000 few weeks ago. After that it rose to N10,000. When last I went to buy, it had risen to N12,00. From what I heard, the price has even increased now. I want to explore the idea of using other alternatives, such as electricity. I will go and buy heater and electric cooker to reduce the expenses in using gas.”
Like Ogunsanya, most families have tried to explore other measures to beat this ugly situation. “I use cooking gas, but the price started rising. The one I bought before now, was N2, 600 for 4 kg, but when I went to buy recently, it has risen to N4,200. Then I decided to get an alternative, charcoal, which is not cheaper either. I tried kerosene too, but it was a no-go-area. I am still using gas, but I monitor it to make sure that my children do not use it carelessly,” a housewife, Gladys explained.
Gloria’s experience is a bit different. She said: “I use prepaid meter, so I don’t use electrical appliances to cook because it consumes the light and so I pay much on electricity. All I do is to ensure that the gas is properly utilised by my children.
She also lamented the state of the economy. Said she: “Times are hard now. Prices of things keep rising every day, but salaries and wages have not changed either. Government should come to our rescue. They must find a way to save this situation, else many may not survive it.”
With her looks betraying her frustration at the evidently hopeless situation, a woman that roasts corn by the road side at Jakande Gate, Ejigbo, who identified herself simply as Iya kabiru, expressed worry at the current situation. She described it as a terrible, wondering how people are surviving. She noted that even kerosene, which used to be cheaper, has also become unaffordable.
“A litre of kerosene now is between N750 and N1,000 per litre in some areas. Charcoal is also expensive. As for firewood, it is not that cheap either. How are we expected to survive? I am still wondering if we have a government in this country, Or else, how can they leave us to die like this? Though I don’t use gas, but I find it difficult to buy kerosene these days because of the cost”.
Oluchi Ezeigwe, a teacher, equally expressed her frustrations. She lamented: “It’s not a small matter. I don’t use 12kg again, but 6kg. When I am cooking something big like soup and the like, I use coal pot, then use gas for warming and cooking anything that won’t take so long to cook.”
Ngozi Okpalakunne, a media practitioner, said she does not use gas but kerosene. She noted, however, that the last time she wanted to buy gas, she discovered that even the price has skyrocketed beyond everyone’s imagination, forcing her to continue using kerosene which is also not cheaper.
A hairstylist at Ikotun, Ebere Anomneze, said she bought gas during the recent fuel scarcity but added that she had yet to use it. Her reason was that her part of Lagos had been lucky with some constant electricity supply for some time, noting that she was reserving her gas for future use.
“I bought the gas at N1,000 per kg during the recent fuel scarcity, because we are lucky to have constant electricity in our area around Ikotun, I have been using electric stove,” she explained.
Some people said they had to return to the use of kerosene due to the rising cost of cooking gas. Abiola Akinola, a teacher, is one such person. She described the cooking gas as gold at over N12,000 for a 12.5kg cylinder of LPG.
“Cooking gas is becoming gold in Nigeria. Although kerosene is not cheap either, I can at least buy it in small portions daily to meet my needs,” she said.
Also speaking with Saturday Sun, Mercy Okoh, who operates a restaurant in Ikeja area of Lagos, complained that getting cooking gas to cook was becoming increasingly difficult. She said she had therefore been using the coal pot as an alternative.
“Even getting the charcoal is not easy. I had to buy the pot itself at N15,000 last week. God should come to our rescue in this country. Health-wise, even the burning of charcoal and firewood is not healthy at all. It will, no doubt, have adverse effects on the human health,” she added.
Stakeholders speak
Many reasons have been adduced for the current cost of the liquefied petroleum gas in the country. According to some experts, the exchange rate volatility, coupled with reduced agricultural production due to insurgency, has added so much pressure on general prices of goods and services so much so that essential goods became unaffordable to most Nigerians.
Prince Bambo Ademiluyi, a stakeholder in the gas industry, also pointed out some of the reasons for the increase in the price of the commodity. “The main reason is the value of the dollar to the naira. All our local supplies are in dollars. Nigeria’s production that is sold to Nigeria is also not enough, so we still have to depend on imports. Price of import has also gone up in dollars,” he said.
Despite the abundant LPG reserves and gigantic production plans, Jude Okechukwu, who is an oil and gas magnate, expressed dismay that a country so richly blessed in gas can be plagued by evils of skyrocketing prices. He blamed the breakdown of the refineries for most of the problems in the sector, noting that the economy has been badly affected. According to him, because of the current state of Nigeria’s refineries, the Federal Government decided to refine the crude oil outside the shores of Nigeria and this has adversely affected the cost of refined petroleum products.
He decried the recent increase in the prices of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG)), also known as cooking gas, saying that it will add to the suffering of the masses in the country. He described the recent increase of prices of the product as outrageous, considering the current situation in the country
Measures to resolve the issue
The Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Limited (NLNG), early this year promised to supply 100 percent of its product to the Nigerian market in order to cushion the price effect. Before the promise was made, about 65 per cent of cooking gas used domestically was imported while 35 per cent was sourced locally. These initiatives are designed to increase LPG availability in Nigeria, diversifying its uses and support the Federal Government’s Decade of Gas initiative.
Recently, at the 2nd West Africa LPG Expo and Nigerian Liquefied Petroleum Association (NLPGA) Summit 2022 held in Lagos, former President Olusegun Obasanjo charged stakeholders in the Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) sub-sector, to ensure that they put Nigeria’s interest first. The ex-president’s plea came on the heels of rising cost of cooking gas in the country. He argued that the domestic market has so much potential as the fastest growing LPG market globally, and called on all stakeholders to come together and rise up to challenges. These, he said, include but not limited to; more volumes from other domestic producers to the ever rising demand/supply, infrastructural development to aid supply to the last mile and the issue of regulations such as VAT, among others that make affordability by the common man a challenge. He encouraged other oil and gas majors to remain committed and look at how to develop the local liquefied petroleum gas sector as a way of showing appreciation to a country from which they have benefited enormously.
