Adedapo Adesanya
By Adedapo Adesanya
***Seek Senate’s Intervention
The Nigerian Association of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers (NALPGAM) has called on the Senate to intervene with Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) terminal owners, which it claims is responsible for the current high price of cooking gas.
Cooking gas prices are currently sold at an average of N1,200 per kg in retail, and with the festive season approaching, there are indications that the prices will rise further due to prevailing macro conditions.
Following the development, the President of the NALPGAM, Mr Oladapo Olatunbosun, said the price of cooking gas should not have skyrocketed to that amount because the gas terminal owners were getting the product at a lower price from the Nigeria LNG (NLNG).
Mr Olatunbosun said this when he led members of the association on a solidarity meeting with the Senate Committee on Gas on Monday in Abuja, noting that the gas terminal owners are getting the product from the NLNG plant at the rate of N9 million for 20 metric tonnes, but sell to marketers at N16.8 million.
“As of today, gas is sold by these terminal owners for N16.8 million for 20 metric tonnes, whereas NNLG sells to them for a little bit less than N9 million.
“When people go to fill their gas today, the least they get is N1,200 per kg. Imagine the pain of Nigerians. In Nigeria today, can a student or menial worker afford to cook a cup of beans with a N1,200 cost of gas?
“You buy gas for N9 million from NLNG and pay in Naira, then you sell the same gas for N16 million and blackmail the government. When people get to our plants and we tell them the price, they start weeping and cursing the government whereas, the government has done their best to make life bearable to the people,” he said.
Responding, the Chairman of the committee, Mr Jarigbe Jarigbe, assured that the Senate would look into the issue and come up with a lasting solution.
Mr Jarigbe also promised that the upper house will address the effect of climate change and greenhouse gas emissions.
