General
Marketers Raise Alarm Over Cooking Gas Scarcity
By Adedapo Adesanya
Gas marketers have expressed worries about the scarcity of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), otherwise known as cooking gas, and rising prices, with consumers paying as high as N2,000 per kg in some areas.
A press statement by the Nigerian Association of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers (NALPGAM) raised concern about the erratic supply and the hike in the price of cooking gas across the country.
According to them, while prices have gone as high, they are forced to pay as much as N26 million for 20MT of cooking gas, depending on location.
“It is sad and rather very pathetic to inform the general public that the citizens of Nigeria have woken up to buy cooking gas, which should be a social item at a prohibitive cost of over N1,500per kg, while the Marketers are made to pay as much as N25,200,000, or, depending on location, N26,200,000 for 20MT of cooking gas.
“We feel that if the situation is not immediately checked, the citizens may rise against the owners of gas filling stations.
“This sad situation has brought untold hardship to millions of Nigerian households, small businesses, food vendors, and low-income families who rely on LPG for daily cooking and livelihood.
“It is rather worrisome to state that this situation is seriously eroding the substantial progress made by the Government on the usage of Clean Energy in the country,” a part of the statement said.
NALPGAM noted that its members face challenges in sourcing LPG due to persistent supply shortages, high depot prices, logistics bottlenecks, and uncontrollable rising operational costs.
“While millions of Nigerians have embraced cooking gas as a result of the national clean energy transition agenda, it is sad to state that those gains are at risk as households are struggling to refill cylinders, small businesses are folding under rising energy costs, while many families are reverting to firewood and charcoal despite the serious implications for public health, environmental degradation, and deforestation,” it said.
The association warned that if urgent and coordinated actions are not taken immediately, the current crisis could trigger broader consequences, including accelerated food inflation, the collapse of small-scale LPG retail businesses, job losses, reduced investor confidence, and a significant setback to Nigeria’s clean energy and climate commitments.
It called on the federal government, the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, domestic producers, terminal operators, international suppliers, and all critical stakeholders in the LPG value chain to take urgent, coordinated steps to stabilise the market before it degenerates further.
It called for immediate measures to improve the availability and accessibility of LPG nationwide, increased domestic LPG allocation to the Nigerian market, ensuring transparent and equitable distribution of available supply across regions, reduction of bottlenecks in product importation, storage, and distribution, implementation of strategic interventions to stabilise retail prices, and protection of consumers.
The marketers also called for other measures, such as investment in critical infrastructure, including storage and distribution facilities, and adoption of policies that support affordability, sustainability, and long-term growth of the sector.
NALPGAM reaffirmed its commitment to constructive engagement and collaboration with government agencies, regulators, producers, and other stakeholders to develop sustainable solutions that will guarantee an affordable, stable supply and continued growth of the LPG sector.
“In conclusion, it is apposite to state that “We cannot stand by and watch millions of Nigerian families suffer in silence while access to clean cooking energy becomes increasingly difficult and unaffordable. For years, Government and industry operators have worked to move Nigerians away from unsafe fuels. Those gains are now under serious threat”, the statement added.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Embattled former Governor of Kaduna State, Mr Nasir El-Rufai, has filed a fresh N10 billion suit against the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) over the alleged denial of access to his wife and son while in custody.
The suit, filed by his lawyer, Mr Ubong Akpan, also lists the Chairman of the ICPC and the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) as the second and third defendants.
The originating motion, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1852/2026, was filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja on August 13, 2026.
Mr El-Rufai is asking the court to declare that his fundamental rights under Part IV of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, remain valid and enforceable despite his detention by the commission.
According to the suit, the former governor alleged that the ICPC repeatedly prevented his wife, Mrs Aichatou Asabe, and his son, Mr Abba El-Rufai, from seeing him while he was in custody.
He contends that the alleged denial of access deprived him of the opportunity to receive food, medication and other necessities from his family without any lawful justification or court order.
Mr El-Rufai argued that the alleged actions violated rights guaranteed under Sections 34 and 37 of the Constitution, as well as Articles 5 and 18 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
He further alleged that ICPC officers physically restrained and intimidated his wife and son on July 7, describing the incident as an unlawful interference with his spousal and filial relationships.
The former governor is asking the court to declare that the alleged treatment breached his constitutional rights to dignity of the person and private and family life. He is also seeking a declaration that the continued denial of access to his family members without lawful authority is unconstitutional, illegal, null and void.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Sunday, August 16, 2026, declared the incumbent Governor of Osun State, Mr Ademola Adeleke, winner of the 2026 governorship election held a day earlier.
Mr Adeleke, who contested under the Accord Party, defeated his closest challenger, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Mr Bola Oyebamiji, to secure a second term in office.
The governor polled 511,067 votes, while Mr Oyebamiji scored 444,815 votes, giving Mr Adeleke a winning margin of 66,252 votes.
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) candidate, Mr Najeem Folasayo Salaam, came a distant third with 17,180 votes.
Mr Salaam had entered the election as one of the candidates expected to potentially emerge as a third force, particularly following the backing he received from former Osun Governor and former Minister of Interior, Mr Rauf Aregbesola.
However, that expectation did not translate into the numbers needed to seriously challenge the two leading candidates.
Mr Adeleke’s victory means he becomes only the third governor in Osun State’s history to win a second term through an election.
He joins Mr Olagunsoye Oyinlola and Mr Aregbesola in the state’s political history, although Mr Oyinlola’s tenure was later cut short following a court decision that nullified his election over irregularities.
Mr Aregbesola subsequently succeeded Oyinlola and went on to secure a second term, completing eight years in office.
Mr Adeleke’s re-election comes after a fiercely contested campaign marked by intense competition and reported violence from competing parties.
Despite those challenges, the governor consolidated his support across the state and secured a decisive victory over the APC candidate, extending his administration for another four years in the southwest states.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has confirmed the collapse of five transmission towers along the Ikot Abasi–Eket 132kV Double Circuit Transmission Line.
This was attributed to severe acts of vandalism, as TCN disclosed that the structure collapsed after vandals removed critical structural bracing members.
The affected towers were N9, J4, N10, N11 and N12, the organisation said in a statement on Friday.
It explained that the extensive damage was discovered during a routine joint line patrol conducted on August 9, 2026, by TCN linesmen.
Further inspection revealed that structural members from seven additional towers along the same transmission corridor had also been removed and stolen. The towers, J3, N8, N13, N14, N15, N18 and N19, are now structurally compromised and pose a risk of further collapse.
TCN condemned this act of sabotage and reiterated its commitment to working hard to maintain a robust and reliable national grid.
The statement said that to mitigate the impact on electricity supply, the network has been reconfigured to prioritise supply to Ekim transmission station, leaving Ibom Power as the only station without supply.
TCN said it is mobilising an urgent intervention to complete the reconstruction of the affected sections of the line, with security agencies also notified to aid investigations and prevent further acts of vandalism along the line route.
