Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, has addressed the challenges resolving around supply and pricing of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) in the domestic market.
The intervention on cooking gas followed a rise in recent months in the price per kilogramme from about N700 to above N900 in parts of the country. The primary obstacle involves difficulties in obtaining foreign exchange for imports and inadequate supply to the domestic market.
He expressed concerns of President Bola Tinubu on the astronomical increase and attendant hardship on the citizenry, in a statement by his spokesman, Louis Ibah.
The minister, while highlighting Nigeria’s abundant gas reserves, expressed disapproval of multinational firms prioritising gas exports over allocating significant volumes for the domestic market, deeming it unacceptable.
His words: “With the exponential increase in the price of LPG, there is the need for the Federal Government to intervene and I am representing this at this moment. We acknowledge that some producers are exporting, while we are faced with the challenges of importation. Public interest is the overriding interest all over the world for government, the demand for LPG will increase as we approach December…you have a public service obligation to collaborate with government to ensure security of gas supply, we need to, therefore, bend backwards and find solutions to ensure that we have sufficient supply and stability in-country and that Nigerians have gas.”
Consequently, Ekpo established a committee to provide recommendations within a week on how to enhance supplies and reduce pricing.
