‘Speculators not PENGASSAN Cause of Cooking Gas Price Surge’ – NALPGAM

BY EGUONO ODJEGBA

The Nigerian Association of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers (NALPGAM) has described the recent spike in cooking gas prices across the country as artificial, attributing it to opportunistic behavior by some marketers rather than the ongoing dispute involving the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN).

Speaking on Channels Television’s ‘The Morning Brief’, NALPGAM President, Oladapo Olatunbosun clarified that there has been no official increase in the price of cooking gas. He emphasized that certain middlemen are exploiting the temporary supply disruption to inflate prices and profit from consumers’ hardship.

“I sympathise with Nigerians as the President of NALPGAM because we never intended to have a situation like this. I must say categorically that prices of cooking gas have not gone up. No increment has been done officially”, Olatunbosun said.

He explained that the crisis between PENGASSAN and the Dangote Refinery had led to supply challenges, but insisted that the resulting price hike—ranging from N1,700 to N2,000 per kilogram, and up to N3,000 in some areas—was driven by opportunistic marketers taking advantage of the situation.

“What is happening is that some marketers are taking advantage of the shortage in supply and the market forces that have increased demand. They are cashing up to make good money, which is wrong,” he added.

In a bid to stabilize the market, Dangote Refinery announced a price reduction from N960 to N870 per kilogram on Tuesday, aiming to restore normalcy.

Olatunbosun assured Nigerians that the Association is actively working to curb the exploitative practices and expects prices to normalize in the coming days.