Abuja Residents Hit Hard by Cooking Gas Scarcity and Skyrocketing Prices

Frustration is mounting among residents of Abuja as a persistent scarcity of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), commonly known as cooking gas, grips the nation’s capital, coupled with a worrying nationwide price hike. The cost of this essential commodity has hit the rooftop, inflicting severe financial strain on households and small businesses across the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Dependable NG reports that in recent weeks, the price of cooking gas has been fluctuating wildly, selling for as much as N1,200 to a staggering N2,000 per kilogramme in Abuja, Lagos, and other major cities. This means that a standard 12.5 kilogramme cylinder now costs Abuja residents between N15,000 and N25,000 in densely populated areas like Kubwa, Lugbe, Dutse, and Nyanya.

While some major filling stations, including Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), NIPCO, and AYM Shafa Energy, reportedly dispense the product at the lower end of the market at N1,200 per kg, many residents are unable to find supply at these official rates. Other independent marketing agents are capitalising on the shortfall, selling the gas for an inflated price of between N1,500 and N2,000, depending on the location within Abuja.

Checks on the supply chain indicate a severe shortage at the depot level. As of Sunday, Dependable NG learned that only a few major depots, specifically NAVGAS, Matrix, NIPCO, and Shafa Energy, had cooking gas, with the ex-depot price for a 20 metric tonnes (MT) truckload standing at N18,500.

Abuja residents shared their deep frustration over the ordeal. Bello Abdullahi, a resident of Kubwa, lamented the difficulty in finding gas at regulated prices. “It is frustrating; on Saturday, I carried my cylinder looking for where to buy gas. I ended up buying at N2,000 per kg. I was told filling stations sell at N1,200 per kg, but I didn’t find any in Kubwa,” he told reporters. Similarly, Rita Nwagwu of Dutse expressed her anger, stating, “Despite the high price of N2,000 per kg in Dutse, most vendors are not selling. I had to use a bike on Friday looking for cooking gas but later bought it at Zone 6 at N2,000 per kg.”

The crisis, which has also been felt intensely by Lagos residents, is being blamed on several factors by stakeholders. These include a supply disruption caused by the recent two-day strike by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association (PENGASSAN) against the Dangote Refinery, which is a major domestic supplier. Other contributing factors are cited as maintenance work at the Nigeria LNG Train 4 facility and the entrance of the 650,000-barrel-per-day Dangote Refinery into the LPG market, which has created volatility.

While the Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPCL, Bayo Ojulari, had previously blamed the PENGASSAN strike for the supply issues, the President of the Nigerian Association of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers, Oladapo Olatunbosun, has dismissed the scarcity as “artificial,” suggesting market exploitation. Meanwhile, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, had vowed to crack down on marketers hoarding the product and inflating prices, but the promised intervention is yet to bring any significant relief to struggling Nigerians.