Nigerians have raised alarm over a fresh surge in the cost of cooking gas, with the price per kilogram reaching as high as ₦2,000 in some areas across the country.
Despite the sharp increase, gas marketers say the rise is not tied to any official price hike.
The Nigerian Association of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers has linked the situation to temporary supply disruptions and alleged profiteering by some operators in the industry.
Speaking on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Wednesday, NALPGAM National President, Oladapo Olatunbosun, clarified that the official price of Liquefied Petroleum Gas had not changed. He pointed to opportunistic practices by certain marketers who are taking advantage of supply shortages caused by a recent strike action by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, which affected operations at the Dangote Refinery.
“I sympathise with Nigerians as the President of NALPGAM because we never intended to have a situation like this,” Olatunbosun said. “I must say it categorically that prices of cooking gas have not gone up. No increment has been done officially.
“What is happening is that some marketers are taking advantage of the shortage in supply and the market forces that have increased demand. They are cashing up to make good money, which is wrong.
“We frown at this as an Association, and I’m happy that by the grace of God, normalcy will return in the next few days.”
Recent reports from Channels Television indicate that LPG, which previously sold for between ₦1,200 and ₦1,300 per kilogram, has spiked to between ₦1,700 and ₦2,000 in several locations — with some areas witnessing prices as high as ₦3,000.
Olatunbosun described the development as artificial and temporary, assuring the public that prices are expected to stabilise soon. He noted that the disruption began when the Dangote Refinery, which had been improving domestic LPG supply by bypassing middlemen, temporarily halted operations for maintenance, resulting in slower truck loading.
He explained, “Before the strike, when you load from Dangote, he sends out about 50 trucks per day, which is good because it served the South West and some part of the North well, and if you add it to what you get from Apapa, and other depots in Lagos, because they also source their products from IOCs and other producers.
“Dangote came in with his own strategy, selling directly to offtakers. That made importation not to be attractive. You won’t be able to compete if you import because you are likely to incur losses.
“But at a time, Dangote also commenced renovation/maintenance, which affected loading. Trucks started spending like 14 days at Dangote yard before they could get products.
“So, marketers switched to Apapa, and nobody felt the impact.”
He further stated that while the Dangote Refinery was undergoing maintenance, supply shifted to Apapa depots. However, the situation worsened when the PENGASSAN strike disrupted vessel discharges and inspections, leading to depleted stocks across many depots.
“When Dangote finished renovation, and we were about to commence full loading, the strike came in. Although Dangote didn’t stop production, everybody had rushed to Apapa, and it was now out of product, and all the depots there were dry.
“The only vessel that came in from NOJ axes was meant to supply three depots could not berth because of the strike. And even when it berthed, the officers to inspect it weren’t on the ground because of the strike, and that caused about five days’ loss, and the real impact of the backlog became obvious.
“Now that the strike is off, the product has been discharged, and they are trucking out. But because everywhere is dry and the South West is the only place that consumes the largest amount of LPG in Nigeria,” he added.
Olatunbosun emphasised that the backlog created by the delays hit the South-West region the hardest due to its high consumption levels. He also disclosed that the country’s overall LPG consumption has risen from about 1.2 million metric tonnes three years ago to nearly two million metric tonnes, further straining supply when disruptions occur.
He urged consumers to buy only from licensed gas plants, warning that purchasing through third parties increases the risk of inflated prices.
Olatunbosun said, “If you buy a product from a third party, fourth party, the chain has been extended, then the price is going up, which is quite illegal. Just like you buy petrol on the road for people who carry kegs, they will sell it at exorbitant prices. So if you go to gas plants, the price you can buy today is 1,300 maximum.
“People who are claiming to buy gas at 1700 did not disclose the source of their purchase. If you are buying from a third or fourth party, then catch on, and the prices increase.
“But if you buy from gas bottling plants, my members, you will not buy as high as that. Average price within my members in Southwest today is between N1000 to maximum of N1300, depending on the location and the kind of overhead they incur to get the gas into the plant. Before this artificial scarcity, the prices were being sold at 1,050 in some places, N950. So the highest you could get from a gas plant today is N1300, depending on if it’s a very remote area.”
He assured Nigerians that the association is working closely with relevant agencies to restore supply and ensure price stability across the country.
