Food inflation or Headline inflation as the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics NBS, would tag the rising prices of goods and services in the country, coupled with the weakening value of the naira, the price of cooking is constituting a major worry to Nigerians across the federation.
Tracing the factors responsible for the jump in the cost of gas, Juliet Jacob, in this story reports that
in some parts of the country and including the FCT households have resorted to using charcoal as they battle to survive the living cost to which the continuing skyrocketing price of cooking gas has added,
Charcoal/firewood as Alternative?
Checks by AHR in Kubwa, Bwari, Gwagwalada and Wuse in the FCT, showed that citizens were filling a 12.5 kilogramme cylinder of cooking gas with about N18,000.
The Nigerian Association of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers (NALGAM) had last year predicted that a 12.5kg cylinder would cost N18, 000 going by the frequent increases.
Crashing Cost of Cooking Gas
Last November, following a rise in the price of cooking gas per kg from about N700 to above N1,100, the Minister of State Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, constituted a committee headed by the Chief Executive of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Farouk Ahmed, to come up with recommendations on how to boost supplies and crash the price within a week.
Failed Promises
Despite that assurance, the price of cooking gas has continued to increase with a kilogramme selling for N1,400 in some parts of the country. This translates into 17,500 for a 12.5 kg cylinder.
The minister had, at a stakeholders’ consultative meeting in Abuja on February 6, listed the measures the government would take to bring down the price of cooking gas.
He said the government would prioritize the domestication and penetration of the LPG towards ensuring accessibility and availability for consumers; and increase upstream gas production to bridge supply and improve strategic economic sectors like gas to power, Gas-Based Industries (GBIs), and gas for export.
Ekpo also said the government would complete major gas midstream infrastructure and projects, including the AKK Gas Pipeline Project, the OB3 Gas Pipeline Project and the ANOH Project. This, according to him, would enable flagship projects like the Brass Methanol Project to enhance the efficiency and capacity of the gas sector.
Consumers’ Angst
Mr Fado, a vendor at an oil and gas company, Solink Oil and gas station, at Dutse, Abuja, told African Health Report (AHR) that the number of people who used to come and fill their cylinders have reduced.
He said, “Business was good before when they started but now they (the company) are facing challenges.
“We started business last year, August 2022. The market was moving very well then, there were much customers and at that time, gas price was not high, unlike now that gas has increased.
“We started selling at N600 per kg, and the the price increased to N700, and then N800 and now we are selling at N1,400 per kg. 5kg is now N7000 and 12.5kg is N16,800 and 50kg is now N70,000 but as time goes on, we are hoping the price will reduce before next year.”
Fado also noted that competition in the business is now high, saying “there are gas plants everywhere now and everyone is looking for where they can buy gas cheaper. But if you want to buy quality, then you will not mind if it’s expensive.
“We are facing challenges because we are not seeing much customers as before when we started. Another thing is the situation of the country, there are no jobs, no money and things are really hard everywhere.”
Miss Ene Emakwu, who runs a fast food business located in Mabushi, Abuja, told AHR that her business was also affected by gas price increases.
“I started this business since last year,” she said, adding that ”everything was moving fine until this year when the new government took over power, that is when everything went bad till now. Then, I used to fill my 12.5kg cylinder for N8,000, now it is sold for N16,800 as at yesterday, I had to get a charcoal stove so i can sometimes switch from gas to charcoal but the stress was too much and people around were complaining because of the smoke. Some said they will even report me to environmental if I don’t stop because it causes air pollution.
”I have to keep managing my gas, not minding how expensive it is now, just to satisfy my costumers. I want to stop this business, but I keep telling myself that if I stop, who will feed I and my family?”
In Dawaki area of the FCT, residents yesterday filled a 12.5kg gas cylinder with N16,875 from the N13, 000 it was sold about a week earlier.
In Bwari ,Abuja, residents said they were already seeking alternatives on account of increasing price as retail outlets were selling a kilogramme of cooking gas between N1, 350 and N1,450 depending on the location.
Speaking with Mrs Peace, a civil servant in Abuja, said she had switched to using charcoal because of the high cost of cooking gas.
“A 12 kg of cooking gas lasts for two weeks in my house, while two bags of charcoal which I bought at N9, 000 will last for the whole month.
In some places at the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, the price of a one kilogramme of gas is now between N1,300 and N1,350.
A retailer at Lugbe said distributors attributed the increased price to non-availability of the cooking gas.
But at Kubwa and Deidei, retailers sold the product at between N1,250 and N1,300 at the weekend.
Reports from Gwagwalada axis, FCT, indicated that prices of firewood and charcoal were on the rise with sellers lamenting about low patronage.
Hauwa Kamal, a firewood seller at Ushafa community, said: “We have a bunch of N100 and N200. The bunch of N100 used to sell for N35.
“Customers aren’t coming as usual because they don’t have money to buy. As I speak, I haven’t sold a single bunch of N100 this morning.”
Agatha Eboh, a charcoal seller at Dutse Alhaji, said: “We usually display N100 and N200 leather-wrapped charcoal. We can’t package for N500 because people cannot afford it. That is why we concentrate on N100 or N200 packages. Despite packaging at lower prices, customers are still not coming.”
Favour Olumide, a housewife, said few months ago, a charcoal of N100 was enough to cook for her family; but now, she spent N400 daily.
