Continuous price increase of cooking gas affecting our purchasing power, say Nigerians
Nigerians have decried continuous increase in the price of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), popularly called cooking gas.
They said the situation has negatively impacted their purchasing power.
Many residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) who spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) yesterday in Abuja said the situation was biting hard on them.
NAN reports that one kilogramme of cooking gas is sold for between N1,260 and N1,500, depending on the location, and refilling a 12.5kg cylinder costs between N15,750 and N18,750, as against 12,500 to N13,000 in June and July.
The latest cooking gas report for September by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed that the average retail price for refilling a 5kg cooking gas cylinder increased by 4.19 per cent on a month-on-month basis from N6,430.02 in August to N6,699.63 in September.
Also, the average retail price for refilling a 12.5kg cylinder cooking gas increased by 4.89 per cent on a month-on-month basis from N15,552.56 in August to N16,313.43 in September.
A businessman and father of two, Mr. Nnamdi Opara, said he had to adjust his spending to accommodate the increase in cooking gas price.
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“When the prices of things increase, I just try to adjust to accommodate that thing, especially if it is a necessity like cooking gas.
“I have a 12.5kg cylinder, but I have not filled it to that capacity for some time. So, I buy like 5kg or a little more, depending on the money I have.
“If I use just N16,000 to buy gas, then I won’t be able to meet other needs. It is not like income has increased, and we all know the situation of the economy.
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“Government’s intervention is urgently re so Nigerians can breathe because we are not breathing,” he said.
A civil servant, Mrs. Memunat Ogunyemi, said the increase in cooking gas had made some people return to traditional cooking options.
“When government was sensitising Nigerians on the need to stop deforestation and embrace the use of cooking gas, I discouraged my mum and family members from using charcoal and kerosene, explaining to them that gas is faster and cleaner.
“At that time, 12.5 cylinder of gas was N6,500. Today, that same size of cylinder is about N16,000 to N17,000, depending on your location.
“How many people can afford to buy it, coupled with other expenses like food and transportation? My mum has gone back to using charcoal and I also use a charcoal stove as an alternative now.”
Ogunyemi added that the prices of accessories, like cylinders, hose regulators, among others, had also increased.
A nurse and mother of three, Mrs. Ella Joshua, said she could no longer afford to fill her 12.5kg cooking gas because of the continuous price increase.
“I have not been filling my 12.5kg for a long time because I cannot afford it. I only manage to fill 6kg per time.
“I resort to cooking with charcoal if I have many dishes/food to cook. Unfortunately, the price of charcoal is skyrocketing too as a bag is currently sold at N10,000.
“The government needs to hear the cries of Nigerians,” she said.
