Nigerians are to expect more hardship in living as the President of the Nigerian Association of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers (NALPGAM) Olatunbosun Oladapo has hinted that Nigerians will pay more for Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) widely used for cooking from mid-August 2023.
According to him, cooking gas prices in Nigeria will experience a hike because of rising international prices, high tax rates, high prices of vessels, forex scarcity, and naira devaluation.
In his words: “It is starting next week because international prices have gone up. The prices of vessels have gone up and taxes are high, but consumers are not earning more. Their purchasing power has gone down.
“Everybody is crying. Consumers, middlemen, and retailers are feeling the impact because business is now on the low side. The situation is very unfortunate because prices are going higher. Nigerian consumers are passing through very difficult times because they can no longer afford gas.
“Local taxes are worsening the problem. The government should come in and alleviate the suffering of the masses by providing palliatives and reducing taxes and levies,” He lamented.
Recall in June 2023 LPG price watch report from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the 12.5kg LPG refill prices fell by 4.35 per cent on a month-on-month basis from N9,537.89 in May 2023 to N9,123.25 in June 2023. Meanwhile, on a year-on-year basis, 12.5kg refill fell by 3.82 per cent from N9,485.91 in June 2022.
Also, a 5kg cylinder refill of Liquefied Petroleum Gas decreased by 6.71 per cent on a month-on-month basis from N4,360.69 recorded in May 2023 to N4,068.26 in June 2023 while a year-on-year basis, 5kg refill decreased by 3.56 per cent from N4,218.38 in June 2022.
However, with the current economic circumstances; 22.8 per cent inflation rate, increase in food and petrol prices, it seems Nigerians may be forced to switch from cooking gas (LPG) to dirty fuels like firewood and dung for cooking which will in turn impact the environment.
The International Energy Agency and the African Development Bank has said that despite clean cooking access rates climbing from 8% to above 15 per cent from 2010 to 2022, the number of people without clean cooking solutions in sub-Saharan Africa increased by 220 million.
