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

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COOKING GAS

 

The Federal Government has implemented a 7.5 per cent tax on imported Liquefied Petroleum Gas, popularly called cooking gas, as the cost of the commodity jumped by over 100 per cent within a period of eight months.

According to reports, the government implemented the VAT on LPG imports about three weeks ago and some dealers were also mandated to pay the tax for commodities imported several months ago.

Operators said that Nigeria imports about 70 per cent of the commodity, while the rest was mainly supplied by the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas company.

It was also gathered that the cost of a 12.5kg of cooking gas that sold for about N3,500 in December 2020 had jumped to as high as N6,800 in parts of Abuja.

A resident along the Lagos-Ibadan road said she bought the commodity on Sunday at N7,200 in Lagos, as dealers projected that the cost might hit N10,000 in December this year.

Operators stated the development had made small businesses and homes in rural and semi-urban areas to revert to firewood and charcoal, as the purchase of cooking gas had plunged in recent months.

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The National Chairman, Liquefied Petroleum Gas Retailers Association of Nigeria, Michael Umudu, said there were three factors that caused the surge in price.

He said, “There are three major factors to the hike in prices. Firstly, about 70 per cent of the gas we consume in Nigeria is imported and importers have to contend with the high cost of foreign exchange.

“Secondly, there is a rise in the price of petroleum products in the international market and because of that, the cost of LPG has equally gone up. So importers now pay more on imports.

“And thirdly, the government added VAT on imported LPG about three weeks ago. It (VAT) was 7.5 per cent of the cost of the commodity and this exacerbated the price hike of cooking gas in the past three weeks.”

Umudu stated that before the introduction of VAT, foreign exchange and cost of petroleum products in the international market had been the factors causing the rise in price.

“Around November/December last year, 12.5kg was sold at about N3,500, but in July it went up to around N5,500 and when VAT was introduced about three weeks ago, it now escalated to about N6,500 and above,” he stated.

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Umudu added, “The price hike seems to be happening on a daily basis and nobody can tell when it will stop. There has been a lot of appeal to the government to find a way of persuading NLNG to increase its domestic supply so that the product can be affordable.

“NLNG supplies about 35 per cent of the gas we consume locally and that percentage is not adequate. And the gas sold by NLNG is even sold at international price and is priced in dollar not naira.”

On the cost of the commodity in metric tonnes, Umudu, replied, “20MT is now in the average of about N8m. And before VAT was introduced, the price of 20MT was around N6.8m to N7m, which was the highest price then.”

He noted that consequent to that, there has been an upsurge in the use of firewood and other alternative energy sources nowadays.

Umudu added, “Many people in the rural and semi-urban areas are dropping their cylinders. Those who find it difficult to get alternatives are actually going through a very hard time.”

Also speaking on the issue, the Executive Secretary, Nigerian Association of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers, Bassey Essien, said the cost of 12.5kg gas could hit N10,000 in December.

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He said, “If by December they (government) don’t take time to address this surge, it (12.5kg) will be N10,000. We are not the one causing this, rather it is the government. We sell what we get.”

On what could be done, he replied, “The volume we produce in Nigeria is just about 40 per cent of the total consumption; the rest is imported. And you don’t have a forex window for these people to access to import gas.

“And secondly, you suddenly woke up and said you want to start imposing VAT on imported gas, which was removed several years back. And now, you didn’t even start it fresh, rather you said it is going to be in retrospect, starting from several months back.”

He added, “And you are imposing billions in taxes on gas imports, for instance, you ask one company to pay about N4bn as tax. Now if they pay that money, some other person needs to shoulder this cost.”

 

 

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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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