Nigeria’s state oil company says the sudden jump in cooking gas prices is linked to recent disruptions caused by the strike by oil workers’ union PENGASSAN, which halted gas loading and distribution for days.
Bayo Ojulari, Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), told reporters in Abuja on Sunday that the strike caused supply delays that some marketers exploited to raise prices.
“The increase you saw was relatively artificial,” Ojulari said. “For the period of the strike, movement and loading were delayed for about two to three days. With that, some marketers who already had stock hiked prices. Now that operations have resumed, prices should return to normal soon.”
Prices worst in the South-West
Across Lagos, Ogun, and Oyo states, residents are paying record sums to refill gas cylinders. At several outlets in Lagos, 12.5kg of cooking gas sold for between ₦26,000 and ₦27,000 — around ₦2,100 to ₦2,200 per kilogram — up from about ₦1,000 just weeks ago. Some buyers in parts of Lagos reported paying as high as ₦3,000 per kilogram.
In Abuja, the price increase has been milder, averaging ₦20,000 per 12.5kg cylinder (₦1,600/kg) around Dutse and Kuje. Before the strike, the same quantity sold for ₦17,500.
“I bought gas at ₦1,600, and it is still like that this weekend,” said Oluwakemi Mobolaji, a resident of Ota, Ogun State. Another consumer in Ibadan, Abefe Taiwo, said she refilled her cylinder for ₦1,300 per kilogram.
Queues have been reported across major South-West cities as retailers run out of stock.
The National Association of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers (NALPGAM) said the scarcity and price hike were largely limited to the South-West, citing the strike and maintenance at the Dangote refinery.
“The shortage is not nationwide,” NALPGAM president Olatunbosun Oladapo told Punch. “Gas is available in the South-South and East, but the South-West experienced shortages due to recent disruptions. Maintenance was carried out at Dangote, and immediately after that, PENGASSAN went on strike, which delayed vessels carrying gas from NLNG. Now that terminals have resumed trucking, the backlog will clear in two to three days.”
He said Dangote has resumed issuing invoices to offtakers and restarted product trucking, a move expected to stabilise supply.
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The episode highlights how fragile Nigeria’s cooking gas market remains despite growing demand. The country consumes more than 1 million metric tons of LPG annually but depends heavily on a few local producers and imports for supply. Any disruption — from strikes to logistics bottlenecks — often triggers sharp price swings.
NNPC’s Ojulari said the corporation is working with marketers and regulators to improve supply chain stability and prevent similar shocks. “We expect prices to normalise shortly as circulation picks up again,” he said.
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