The cost of liquefied petroleum gas, otherwise known as cooking gas, appears to be on a downward spiral lately.

Consumers who spoke with The PUNCH in Ogun, Lagos, Oyo and others confirmed that the average cost of 1 kilogramme of cooking gas is now around N1,000 or below, depending on the location and the seller.

 

Between February and March, the price of LPG rose to around N1,300 and above in some locations.

 

In February, the National Bureau of Statistics said the price of 12.5kg of LPG increased by 46.88 per cent in one year.

 

NBS said the average price for refilling a 12.5kg cylinder of cooking gas in February increased to N15,060.38, compared to N10,253.39 in February 2023.

 

According to the NBS, the average retail price for refilling a 12.5kg cylinder of LPG went up by 28.33 per cent in a month — from N11,735.72 in January 2024 to N15,060.38 in February 2024.

 

On state profile analysis, Ogun recorded the highest average retail price for the refilling of a 12.5kg cylinder of cooking gas at N16,375, followed by Delta with N16,333, and Edo with N16,321.

 

But checks by our correspondent confirmed that the price is gradually coming down across the nation.

 

This, some opined, may not be unconnected with the rebound of the naira in April from about N1,900 per dollar to about N1,500 again at the moment.

 

While the Federal Government said it would take further steps to ensure the price of LPG goes down in the domestic, operators in the industry feared that the price may soon go up again.

 

Speaking with our correspondent, a resident of Abule Egba in Lagos, Adedokun Ojo, said she bought 1kg of LPG at the rate of N940 at Mobil

 

“LPG is now N940 per kg. I still bought it yesterday evening at Mobil in Abule Egba,” Ojo said.

 

Also, a resident of Enugu, Uzor Nneka, disclosed that she got a kilogramme of the gas for N1,000 at the Romchi plant in Enugu.

 

“1kg of cooking gas used to be N1,300 before, but now it is N1,050. The price is coming down,” Jonathan Igbowu, a resident of the Idiroko border community of Ogun State told our correspondent.

 

Our correspondent observes that the prices are different in Idiroko based on the seller. Nojim Ajani stated that 1kg of LPG was N750 in the Aferiku area of the town lately.

 

One Mr Ibrahim Ogunleye mentioned that the product sold for N1,200 in Ofa, Kwara State, saying it used to be N1,400 some weeks ago.

 

Similarly, Mr Quadri Yusuf, who lives at Idi-Aba, Abeokuta said cooking gas is now N800/kg, down N1,200 in April.

 

However, Muraina Akintunde in Ayetoro, regretted that sellers of LPG now charge N1,200/kg in the area, stating that it used to be N1,400 till the last week in May.

 

In Ilaro, Folake Ogunwemimo said a kilogramme of LPG costs N1,100, while Kazim Ajose bought it for N970 at Sango-Ota, Ogun State.

 

A police officer, Ola Rotimi, told The PUNCH that he refilled a 6kg cylinder at the rate of N5,700 at Eco Gas in Abeokuta.

 

Speaking on the development, the Minister of Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, said the reduction in the price of LPG  was a result of the efforts being made by the Federal Government, through the Ministry of Petroleum Resources (Gas) with the full support of relevant regulatory agencies in the sector and even operators to increase the volume of domestically produced cooking gas coming into the local market.

 

Credit: punchng.com