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Retailers, consumers lament as cooking gas price soars to N500/kg

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The price of Liquefied Petroleum Gas, also known as cooking gas, has skyrocketed to a record high of N500 per kilogramme, forcing some Nigerians to turn to alternatives such as charcoal, kerosene and firewood amid high unemployment and poverty levels in the country.

The price of cooking gas has risen by more than 60 per cent since early December last year on the back of the recent devaluation of the naira and lingering inadequate domestic supply of the fuel.

It was gathered that as cooking gas prices maintained an upward trend in recent months, more Nigerians, especially in the rural and semi-urban areas, have been discouraged from using the fuel for cooking.

It was also learnt that some Nigerians who do not have prepaid electric meters are now increasingly using electric cookers in a bid to reduce their cooking gas usage.

Recall that the price of 20 metric tonnes of LPG sold to marketers in the country had risen by over 29 per cent in the past two months to as high as N5.5m from N4.25m on November 20.

The price of 20MT of LPG sold by terminal operators and importers surged by 30.91 per cent in six months to N7.2m on Thursday, according to LPG in Nigeria, an advocacy organisation championing the use of the fuel in the country.

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A gas plant in Lagos refilled a 12.5kg cylinder for LPG for N5,200 on July 17, up from N4,400 on June 17 and N3,200 in November/December 2020.

The National Chairman of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Retailers Branch of NUPENG, Mr Chika Umudu, attributed the price hike to the country’s high dependence on importation for LPG.

“As the dollar is appreciating against the naira, the price of LPG is increasing,” he added.

In May, the Central Bank of Nigeria devalued the naira as it adopted the NAFEX exchange rate of N410.25 per dollar as its official exchange rate. The naira traded at 503/$1 at the parallel market on Thursday.

Umudu suggested that the Nigerian LNG Limited, which accounts for more than 40 per cent of the LPG supply volumes in the country, should be supplying the domestic market in accordance to the demand, rather than having a fixed quantity per annum.

He said, “The increase in cooking gas price, which started last December, doesn’t speak well of the policy direction of the government.

“As much as I will not advocate for subsidy the way it is being done with petrol, I think there are ways the government could make cooking gas affordable to Nigerians.

See also  Cooking gas prices rise by 100% as FG implements imports tax

“People in rural areas and semi-urban areas, who are even the major target of LPG expansion, are beginning to dump their cylinders. It is not a good development.

“Cooking gas sales have dropped by 50 per cent at my outlet in Anambra State. People are now using firewood, sawdust and charcoal.”

According to Umudu, in Lagos and some other major cities, some canteens and restaurants are now turning to charcoal and firewood because they cannot factor the hike in cooking gas appropriately into their costs.

“Government should work out a framework with NLNG to meet up with local demand and equally encourage other multinational companies to supply the domestic market so that we stop talking about importation of LPG,” he added.

A resident of Oworonshoki, Lagos, Mr Adeleke Adeshina, said the increase in the price of cooking gas had affected the quantity of food sold to customers by food vendors.

He said, “I filled my gas cylinder two months ago for N400 per kg. Last Saturday, I paid 500/kg to the man who sold it to me.

“The recent increase affected how food vendors sell their food to us. They now sell their food based on the price at which the cooking gas is bought for.”

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The Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Association of LPG Marketers, Mr Bassey Essien, said with 20MT of LPG being sold for over N7m, marketers were spending what they used in buying 40MT some months ago to get 20MT.

“We are not happy about the price hike,” he said, stressing the need for frequent supply of LPG by the NLNG. “It is only one vessel they (NLNG) have, and it supplies Lagos and Port Harcourt; so the replacement cycle is longer,” he added.

According to him, since the country depends more on imports for the commodity, the demand for scarce foreign exchange by marketers to import the product will cause price hikes.

“There is a need for the domestic supply to be increased so that we can have less dependence on importation,” Essien added.

The NLNG said in September that its board of directors had approved an increase in its dedicated volume of LPG supplied to the domestic market from 350,000 metric tonnes per annum to 450,000 mtpa.

 

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Good morning! Nigerian Newspapers Headlines: PCC inauguration: APC banks on Tinubu’s record for re-election

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1. The All Progressives Congress on Wednesday inaugurated its Presidential Campaign Council for the 2027 election, expressing confidence in President Bola Tinubu’s record and reforms while rallying party leaders and politicians from other political parties to secure his re-election.

The inauguration and federation general assembly, held at the State House Conference Centre, Abuja, drew opposition figures who pledged to back his re-election bid.

2. The re-election campaign will not stop governance because the economy needs all hands on the plough, the President declared yesterday. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu spoke at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja, during the inauguration of his Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) for the January 16, 2027 election, an event that turned into a political carnival.


3. The Federal Government has approved plans to build a new eastern-western electricity grid as part of efforts to address Nigeria’s recurring power grid collapses. The Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, disclosed this at the recent HBSAN energy conference in Lagos, where he outlined plans to address longstanding weaknesses in the country’s electricity transmission infrastructure.

See also  Cooking gas prices rise by 100% as FG implements imports tax

4. Popular gospel singer, Olayemi Bayonile Bolaji, popularly known as Toluwanisings, has passed away. His family confirmed the news in a public announcement shared on his verified Instagram page on Wednesday night.
According to the statement, the gospel minister passed away in the early hours of Wednesday, October 14, 2026



5. The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Prof. Joash Amupitan, has said algorithms will not determine the outcome of the 2027 general elections, insisting that the decision on who governs Nigeria rests solely with voters. He warned that although artificial intelligence could influence electoral administration and the information available to voters, the technology must remain subordinate to human judgment and democratic institutions.

6. Inspector-General of Police (IGP)  Olatunji  Disu  has assured Nigerians that the police will demonstrate professionalism before, during and after the 2027 general election.
Disu said the police  reviewed their performances in recent elections and would  apply  the lessons learned in order to make Nigerians proud.



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7. The Federal Government has proposed a new examination timetable that will see candidates sitting the 2027 West African Examinations Council (WAEC), National Examinations Council (NECO) and other major external examinations receive their results by August, ahead of the September admission process into tertiary institutions.

8. The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike, has urged All Progressives Congress, APC, governors to work hard in their respective states to ensure President Bola Tinubu wins next year’s election. Speaking at the inauguration of the APC Presidential Campaign Council in Abuja on Wednesday, Wike said any governor who failed to deliver his state for the President should not join others in claiming victory if Tinubu is re-elected in 2027.

9. The Kwara State Police Command has arrested four men in connection with two separate incidents involving the alleged removal of human heads from exhumed graves and the possession of suspected human hands allegedly intended for money-making rituals. The Commissioner of Police, Ojo Adekimi, disclosed the arrests on Tuesday while briefing journalists at the command headquarters in Ilorin, where he provided details of the investigations into the two cases.

See also  Cooking Gas price drops as supply rises

10. The Police Special Fraud Unit in Lagos State has arraigned a banker and seven other defendants before the Federal High Court in Lagos over an alleged N710 million proof-of-funds fraud. The defendants — Elvis Osazee Eghile, Egharevba MaryJane Osarieyekemwen, Precious Omonigho Irbhogbe, Aghatise Kelvin Uhuenkpoewen, Nweke Nnamdi Emmanuel, Obinyan Esther, Egharevba Emmanuel Osagioduwa and Emmanuel Obinyan Osenonome — were arraigned on a 12-count charge.

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‘Delusion of grandeur’ — Shettima calls Peter Obi master of bogus statistics

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Vice President Kashim Shettima has knocked former Anambra State Governor, Peter Obi, describing him as “the master of bogus statistics and incoherent economic prescriptions”.

Shettima made the remark on Wednesday at the inauguration of the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council at the State House Banquet Hall, Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Calling Obi “my very good friend”, the Vice President mocked his habit of comparing Nigeria with other countries, especially Bangladesh.

Shettima stated. “He seems convinced that a size 36 shirt tailored for Bangladesh will somehow fit Nigeria’s size 52 frame.”

He said Obi’s “fascination with foreign comparisons overlooks the peculiarities that distinguish one nation from another”.

According to Shettima, “Governance is an art that demands mastery of context, whether social, economic, political or institutional.

“What succeeds in Bangladesh cannot simply be transplanted to Nigeria without accounting for the differences in our population, economic structures, institutions and national circumstances.

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“A country of over 250 million people cannot be governed through borrowed statistics and economic prescriptions detached from its peculiarities.”

The VP said he respected Obi but accused him of making a “bogus claim” about winning the 2023 presidential election without evidence to support the assertion.

“This is called delusion of grandeur.
Our contest is with the politics of yesterday dressed as tomorrow’s deliverance,” he said.

Obi has frequently cited Bangladesh in his criticism of the Tinubu administration’s economic management, including its borrowing.

In February, he said Nigeria’s challenge was fund mismanagement, not borrowing.

Obi ran as the Labour Party candidate in 2023 and finished third behind Tinubu and Atiku Abubakar.

He challenged Tinubu’s victory in court, and the Supreme Court dismissed his appeal and affirmed Tinubu’s election in October 2023.

Obi is seeking the presidency again in the election on January 16, 2027, on the platform of the Nigeria Democratic Congress.

See also  Price of 12.5kg cooking gas increased by 122% in one year - NBS

The APC will flag off its campaign in Kaduna on October 24.

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El-Rufai’s associates earmarked $600,000 to compromise EFCC probe, DSS witness tells court

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A forensic investigator with the Department of State Services (DSS), Segun Kayode, has told a Kaduna state high court, sitting in Kawoa, that Nasir el-Rufai, former Kaduna state governor, and some of his associates earmarked $600,000 to pay officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and intermediaries.

Kayode, who is the first prosecution witness in the ongoing trial, made the allegation on Tuesday while testifying before the court presided over by Justice Darius Khobo.

According to the witness, $500,000 and $100,000 were allegedly set aside for the payments, adding that forensic audio recordings captured conversations involving el-Rufai and some of his suspected associates.

According to Kayode, the recorded conversations centred on alleged efforts to frustrate an EFCC investigation into a company identified as Singularity.

He said a senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN), another individual and Bashir el-Rufai, were among those allegedly mentioned in the conversations.

Kayode told the court that the SAN and the other individual were allegedly directed to meet one Ahmadu Sule to obtain a template previously used to liquidate another company, with the intention of applying a similar process to Singularity.

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The investigator further alleged that the discussions included plans to liquidate the company in Nigeria and Mauritius, where it was reportedly under investigation by the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit.

He also alleged that the recordings contained discussions about preventing the EFCC from investigating a company he said was listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

The allegations formed part of the prosecution’s evidence against the former governor and have yet to be established by the court.

Proceedings lasted nearly eight hours, from 12:26pm to 8:18pm, with about two hours devoted to playing the recorded conversations.

After Kayode submitted a hard copy of his findings to the court clerk, the defence objected, saying the document should have been served earlier to allow the legal team to study its contents.

The judge ruled that the defence could obtain a certified true copy of the document admitted as Exhibit One for examination.

The court adjourned the case until November 30 and December 1, 2026, for the continuation of cross-examination, following agreement by the prosecution and defence.

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Recall that El-Rufai is facingtrial over alleged money laundering and conversion of public property.

The DSS is also prosecuting the former governor before the federal high court in Abuja over allegations of wiretapping.

He has been in the custody of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) since February 19, after being released by the EFCC.

On April 13, the ICPC arraignedthe former governor at the Kaduna high court on an amended nine-count charge bordering on alleged fraud and abuse of office.

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