The Nigerian Association of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers (NALPGAM) has expressed concern over the rising cost of cooking gas across the country, describing the current price hike as artificial.
NALPGAM’s National President, Mr. Oladapo Olatunbosun, raised the alarm while speaking on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Wednesday.
Olatunbosun was reacting to the ongoing scarcity of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), caused mainly by the crisis between the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) and the Dangote Refinery.
The strike action had pushed the price of cooking gas from around ₦1,700 to ₦2,000 per kilogram, and as high as ₦3,000 in some areas.
However, Olatunbosun clarified that there had been no official increase in the price of cooking gas, attributing the situation to market opportunists exploiting the temporary shortage.
“I sympathize with Nigerians as the President of NALPGAM because we never intended to have a situation like this,” he said ;“I must state categorically that the price of cooking gas has not officially increased. What is happening is that some marketers are taking advantage of the short supply to make profit, which is wrong.”
He expressed optimism that the situation would normalize within days, noting that the Association frowned at such exploitative practices.
Explaining the cause of the recent scarcity, Olatunbosun said the temporary disruption began when Dangote Refinery undertook maintenance work, which reduced the number of trucks loading gas daily from about 50 trucks.
“Before the strike, Dangote was loading about 50 trucks daily, serving the South-West and part of the North. This helped stabilize prices; But during the maintenance period, trucks spent over two weeks waiting for loading. Marketers switched to Apapa depots, but they soon ran out of products,” he explained.
He further noted that when Dangote completed maintenance and resumed operations, the PENGASSAN strike disrupted supply logistics.
“Even when vessels arrived, there were no officers to inspect and clear them due to the strike, causing about five days of delay,” he added.
Olatunbosun assured that the situation was being addressed as products were now being trucked across the country.
“Now that the strike has ended, the backlog is being cleared. By the weekend, normal supply will return. Prices should not exceed ₦1,300 per kilogram,” he stated.
The NALPGAM president also disclosed that Nigeria’s national gas consumption had risen from 1.3 million to nearly 2 million metric tonnes annually, which increased pressure on supply chains.
He advised consumers to buy only from registered gas plants, warning against purchasing from third-party sources that inflate prices illegally.
“Those selling at ₦2,000 per kilogram are mostly sourcing from the black market. Official plants are still selling at about ₦1,300 per kilogram,” Olatunbosun said.
He assured Nigerians that both Dangote Refinery and NLNG were trucking out products and that the scarcity would soon end.
