Gas Retailers Urge FG To Curtail Excesses Of Terminal Owners, Else, 12.5k May Jump To ₦18k
Gas retailers have warned that the price of 12.5kg cooking gas may hit ₦18,000 by December if the Federal Government does not restrict the activities of the terminal owners.
The President of the Nigerian Association of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers, Olatunbosun Oladapo, has said that 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 ₦9-₦10m per 20 metric tons to ₦14 m per 20 metric tons.
“There is a ridiculous hike in gas prices going on right now, and I am afraid that if the Federal Government does not step in to checkmate the activities of these terminal owners, the price could reach as high as ₦18m per metric ton by December. This means that a 12.5kg could go as high as ₦18,000.”
According to him, terminal owners were “hiding under the guise of high foreign exchange to increase price and to further increase the suffering of the masses.”
Olatunbosun said there was no justification for the increment, as the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas Limited still supplied the market.
He said, “NNPCL currently takes 59 percent of the gas produced by NLNG, although NLNG has also increased its price from ₦6m to ₦8m. Now, because NLNG has increased its price, NNPCL, and terminal owners have increased the price to ₦14m.
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“The increase in price that would take effect is not the fault of retailers. It is the fault of NLNG and terminal owners. Even NNPCL is hiding under the guise that they are now privatized to increase prices. As of last week, 1kg was ₦800 at the terminal, now it is ₦1,200, and could reach ₦1,500 by December if care is not taken.”
He added, “Now, the ordinary man would not be able to buy gas. How many minimum wage earners can afford gas now? Everyone is turning to firewood and charcoal. The surprising thing was that they visited President Tinubu last week, and promised to work together with his administration to make life better. Now they have come back and started doing something else. Where are all the palliatives and buses they promised to donate? We have not seen anything.”
CityNews had reported an intended hike in cooking gas prices in August. Prices had since shot up, with a 12.5kg cylinder of cooking gas going as high as high as ₦10,000.
