The Nigerian Association of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers has called on the Federal Government and relevant stakeholders to urgently address the supply and rising cost of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), popularly known as cooking gas, across the country.
In a statement jointly signed by Barrister Edu Inyang, the National President, and Mr Bassey Essien, the Executive Secretary, of the association, NALPGAM lamented that cooking gas, which should be treated as a basic social commodity, is now sold to consumers at prohibitive rates exceeding N1,500 per kilogram. According to the association, marketers currently pay as much as N26.2 million for 20 metric tonnes of LPG.
The association noted that the situation has imposed severe hardship on millions of Nigerian households, small businesses, food vendors, and low-income families that depend on LPG for daily cooking and livelihood.
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“It is worrisome to state that this situation is seriously eroding the substantial progress made by the Government in promoting the use of clean energy in the country.
“Our members across the country are facing enormous challenges in sourcing LPG due to persistent supply shortages, high depot prices, logistics bottlenecks, and rising operational costs. Even where the product is available, it is sold at rates far beyond the reach of average Nigerians,” the statement read in part.
NALPGAM further disclosed that the crisis is undermining years of progress achieved through Federal Government policies, public-private sector investments, and awareness campaigns aimed at deepening LPG penetration and promoting clean cooking energy as a safer alternative to kerosene, charcoal, and firewood.
The association expressed concern that despite the growing adoption of cooking gas under Nigeria’s clean energy transition agenda, the gains recorded are now under serious threat. It noted that many households are struggling to refill their cylinders, while small businesses are folding under rising energy costs.
Consequently, several families are reverting to the use of firewood and charcoal despite the attendant risks of environmental degradation, deforestation, and public health concerns.
On the wider socio-economic implications, NALPGAM warned that if urgent and coordinated interventions are not implemented, the current crisis could worsen food inflation, lead to the collapse of small-scale LPG retail businesses, trigger job losses, reduce investor confidence, and significantly undermine Nigeria’s clean energy and climate commitments.
The association therefore called on the Federal Government, the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), NNPC Ltd, domestic producers, terminal operators, international suppliers, and other critical stakeholders in the LPG value chain to take immediate and coordinated steps to stabilise the market before the situation deteriorates further.
