Nigerians have raised concerns over the recent surge in cooking gas prices, with a kilogram now selling for as high as ₦2,000 — and up to ₦3,000 in some areas.
However, the Nigerian Association of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers (NALPGAM) has attributed the spike to temporary supply disruptions and market manipulation by opportunistic dealers, not any official price increase.
Speaking on *Channels Television’s* *The Morning Brief* on Wednesday, NALPGAM President, Oladapo Olatunbosun, said the price hike was an artificial situation triggered by recent supply gaps following the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) strike that affected the Dangote Refinery.
“I sympathise with Nigerians because this situation was never intended,” Olatunbosun said. “There has been no official increment in the price of LPG. What we are witnessing is the handiwork of some marketers exploiting the temporary shortage in supply to make quick profits, which we strongly condemn.”
He expressed optimism that prices would stabilise in the coming days as supply normalises.
Olatunbosun explained that the crisis began when the Dangote Refinery — which had helped stabilise domestic gas supply by selling directly to offtakers — temporarily halted operations for maintenance, slowing truck loading and forcing marketers to source products from Apapa depots.
“When Dangote was fully operational, about 50 trucks left the refinery daily, meeting much of the demand in the South-West and parts of the North. But maintenance work reduced output, and trucks spent up to 14 days waiting for products,” he said.
The situation worsened when the PENGASSAN strike disrupted vessel discharges and inspection activities, causing severe shortages across depots.
“Now that the strike has ended, products are being discharged and trucked out again,” Olatunbosun noted, adding that the backlog, especially in the South-West — Nigeria’s largest LPG consumer — created temporary scarcity.
The NALPGAM boss said Nigeria’s national LPG consumption had risen from 1.2 million metric tonnes three years ago to nearly two million metric tonnes, meaning even minor supply disruptions now have a larger impact.
Olatunbosun urged consumers to purchase gas directly from registered gas plants to avoid inflated third-party prices.
“If you buy from licensed gas bottling plants, you shouldn’t pay more than ₦1,300 per kilogram, depending on location and logistics,” he said. “Those paying ₦1,700 or more are likely buying from middlemen, which is illegal and exploitative.”
He assured that NALPGAM was working with relevant authorities to restore stability to the market and ensure fair pricing nationwide.
