By Azuka Christopher-Lagos, Nigeria
SAT, 06 AUG, 2022-theGBJournal| Lagos State residents are currently struggling to find Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) or domestic cooking, and where they find the product, the prices are outrageous.
The scarcity which began to rear its ugly head about two months ago nationwide is becoming even more difficult to find as outlets of major marketers are out of stock.
Road side retailers are equally out of stock. ‘’We don’t know when this will abate. I will be out of stock today (Saturday, 6th August 2022) and I don’t know where to get my replenishment,’’says one Biodun Ibidun, a road side retailer told theG&Bjournal.
‘’The displayed prices on sales board is scary,’’ says one Sarah, a consumer who said she had spent two days trying to refill her cylinder.
Indeed, a 12.5kg cylinder of gas now goes for N10,000 and the cheapest, the 1kg cylinder cost as much as N800, as displayed on Ibidun’s board.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in its recent Liquefied Petroleum Gas (Cooking Gas) Price Watch (June 2022) noted that the average retail price for refilling a 5kg Cylinder of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (Cooking Gas) increased by 7.57% on a month-on-month basis from N3,921.35 recorded in May 2022 to N4,218.38 in June 2022. On a year-on-year basis, this rose by 103.92% from N2,068.69 in June 2021.
In November 2021, Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) unveiled plans it says will help crash the soaring price and pump more supply to the domestic market. The NLNG subsequently increased the off-takers to 43 from the initial six contracted in 2007 and promised to increased domestic supply to 450,000 mt/per annum from 250, 000 mt/per annum.
The measure so far has failed to suppress the soaring cost and the scarcity that is threating to engulf the entire country.
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