Consumers who spoke with the PUNCH in Ogun, Lagos, Oyo and others confirmed that the average cost of 1 kilogramme of cooking gas is now around N1,000 or below, depending on the location and the seller.
Between February and March, the price of LPG rose to around N1,300 and above in some locations.
In February, the National Bureau of Statistics said the price of 12.5kg of LPG increased by 46.88 per cent in one year.
NBS said the average price for refilling a 12.5kg cylinder of cooking gas in February increased to N15,060.38, compared to N10,253.39 in February 2023.
According to the NBS, the average retail price for refilling a 12.5kg cylinder of LPG went up by 28.33 per cent in a month — from N11,735.72 in January 2024 to N15,060.38 in February 2024.
On state profile analysis, Ogun recorded the highest average retail price for the refilling of a 12.5kg cylinder of cooking gas at N16,375, followed by Delta with N16,333, and Edo with N16,321.
But checks by our correspondent confirmed that the price is gradually coming down across the nation.
This, some opined, may not be unconnected with the rebound of the naira in April from about N1,900 per dollar to about N1,500 again at the moment.
While the Federal Government said it would take further steps to ensure the price of LPG goes down in the domestic, operators in the industry feared that the price may soon go up again.
Speaking with our correspondent, a resident of Abule Egba in Lagos, Adedokun Ojo, said she bought 1kg of LPG at the rate of N940 at Mobil
“LPG is now N940 per kg. I still bought it yesterday evening at Mobil in Abule Egba,” Ojo said.
Also, a resident of Enugu, Uzor Nneka, disclosed that she got a kilogramme of the gas for N1,000 at the Romchi plant in Enugu.
“1kg of cooking gas used to be N1,300 before, but now it is N1,050. The price is coming down,” Jonathan Igbowu, a resident of the Idiroko border community of Ogun State told our correspondent.
Our correspondent observes that the prices are different in Idiroko based on the seller. Nojim Ajani stated that 1kg of LPG was N750 in the Aferiku area of the town lately.
One Mr Ibrahim Ogunleye mentioned that the product sold for N1,200 in Ofa, Kwara State, saying it used to be N1,400 some weeks ago.
Similarly, Mr Quadri Yusuf, who lives at Idi-Aba, Abeokuta said cooking gas is now N800/kg, down N1,200 in April.
However, Muraina Akintunde in Ayetoro, regretted that sellers of LPG now charge N1,200/kg in the area, stating that it used to be N1,400 till the last week in May.
In Ilaro, Folake Ogunwemimo said a kilogramme of LPG costs N1,100, while Kazim Ajose bought it for N970 at Sango-Ota, Ogun State.
Speaking on the development, the Minister of Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, said the reduction in the price of LPG was a result of the efforts being made by the Federal Government, through the Ministry of Petroleum Resources (Gas) with the full support of relevant regulatory agencies in the sector and even operators to increase the volume of domestically produced cooking gas coming into the local market.
Ekpo, who spoke through his media aide, Louis Ibah, said the domestication of LPG export has reduced the dependence on imported LPG, and of course, its attendant added costs due to foreign exchange fluctuations.
“You will recall that the Minister of State Petroleum Resources (Gas), Mr. Ekperikpe Ekpo, some months back had ordered the domestication of all LPG produced within the country with the target of stabilising the price of cooking gas in the domestic market for consumers.
“So, the reduction in the price of LPG being witnessed is as a result of the efforts being made by the Federal Government, through the Ministry of Petroleum Resources (Gas) with the full support of relevant regulatory agencies in the sector and even Operators to increase the volume of domestically produced LPG/cooking gas coming into the local market.
“This has reduced the dependence on imported LPG, and of course, its attendant added costs due to FOREX fluctuations,” the minister’s spokesperson said.
He spoke further that the impact of the government waiving Value Added Tax and customs duties on gas and its equipment must have contributed to the price reduction.
“And you also must recall and note the positive impact that the federal government’s decision to waive VAT and Customs duties on gas and gas equipment must have had on the price of LPG,” Ibah added.
He stressed that the minister has “assured that prices will go down further in the months ahead as more volumes of LPG domestically produced is released into the domestic market,” saying he is working round the clock with his team to achieve this.
However, the Nigerian Association of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers expressed concerns that the price of LPG may surge again in the coming weeks.
The Executive Secretary of NALPGAM, Bassey Essien, told our correspondent that the reduction occasioned by the naira rebound was being eroded because gas is priced in dollars.
According to Essien, even if the Federal Government boosts local production of LPG, the price will not be stable because gas producers sell in foreign currency.
“I won’t say it has come down, because it is going up again. And it is an interplay of the foreign exchange. Everything is priced in foreign exchange, very soon even the air we breathe will be priced in foreign exchange.
“Even the LNG that a domestic gas, how do they price it? It is still being priced at the international price, and the international price is dependent on the dollar. Whether you have it in abundance or not, it is still being sold at the international price. The bottom line is everything is priced in forex,” Essien said, asking the government to look into local pricing of gas.
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