Cooking gas prices have decreased from N2,000 per kilogramme to between N1,300 and N1,500 over the weekend, according to retailers, marking a significant relief for consumers.
Ayobami Olarinoye, Chairman of the Liquefied Petroleum Gas Retailers Association of Nigeria, confirmed the price drop, attributing it to improved supply.“
The product is gradually circulating, with an increase in supply. Prices are now between N1,300 and N1,600, depending on the location,” Olarinoye told reporters.
While the market remains unstable, he expressed optimism that sustained supply could stabilize prices within a week.
Consumers have noted lower prices at gas shops compared to recent weeks but are hopeful for a return to N900/kg or less.
The price surge, which saw costs double to N2,000/kg in some areas, followed a strike by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association amid tensions with the Dangote refinery.
Despite the strike’s suspension over two weeks ago, prices initially remained high due to persistent scarcity.Last week, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, vowed to address hoarding and exploitation by marketers.
Retailers highlighted a pricing disparity, noting that the Dangote refinery sells LPG at N715,000 per metric tonne (N715/kg) to off-takers, who then resell at N18.4m-N18.5m per 20,000 metric tonnes, significantly inflating retail prices.
Sources at the Dangote refinery clarified, “Marketers buy at N715/kg, but we can’t control retail prices. That’s governed by the Petroleum Industry Act and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority.”
Alhaji Aliko Dangote had previously threatened to distribute cooking gas directly if distributors failed to lower prices.
The Nigerian Association of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers blamed retailers for the price hike, a claim Olarinoye called “unfair and misguided,” emphasizing the role of off-takers in the pricing chain.
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