Two weeks after the Federal Government’s emergency intervention in the liquefied petroleum gas market, marketers say cooking gas prices have yet to return to normal despite improved product supply and easing market tensions.
Although supply has improved significantly following the emergency stakeholders’ meeting convened in Abuja by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, on June 22, consumers across the country are still paying between N1,300 and N1,650 per kilogramme for cooking gas.
Before the scarcity and price surge that started in May, a kilogramme of cooking gas was selling for below N1,000. It rose to as high as N2,500 in some locations in June before the minister’s intervention.
Speaking with our correspondent, the National President of the Nigerian Association of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers, Edu Inyang, said prices have yet to return to previous levels despite significant reductions.
Last week, Inyang told The PUNCH that retail prices had begun to ease after weeks of sharp increases, with cooking gas selling for between N1,100 and N1,350 per kilogramme in Lagos, Ibadan and Abeokuta; N1,150 and N1,400/kg in Benin City, Port Harcourt and Warri; N1,200 and N1,450/kg in Onitsha and Enugu; N1,250 and N1,500/kg in Abuja; while consumers in Kano and Kaduna paid between N1,300 and N1,550/kg. Maiduguri and parts of the North-East recorded the highest prices at between N1,350 and N1,650/kg.
Giving a fresh update, Inyang said the government’s intervention had succeeded in restoring stability to the market but had yet to make cooking gas affordable for millions of households.
“Two weeks after the emergency stakeholders’ meeting convened in Abuja by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, Nigeria’s LPG market has shown early signs of stabilisation, but the crisis is far from over. The meeting succeeded in calming market panic and improving supply, yet it has not translated into a significant reduction in retail cooking gas prices for consumers,” he said.
