Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, has ordered a clampdown on marketers hoarding or exploiting consumers following the recent surge in the price of cooking gas.
Spokesman of the minister, Louis Ibah, made this known in a statement on Monday.
There has been a sharp increase in the price of cooking gas from an average of N1,000 per kilogram to about N2,000/kg in some locations, in the aftermath of the strike by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) over industrial dispute with the Dangote Refinery.
The price of the commodity has remained high two weeks after the strike was suspended.
The Nigerian Association of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers attributed the surge in cooking gas price to temporary supply disruptions and market exploitation by some operators, assuring that the increase has little to do with any official price adjustment.
Expressing concern over the development, Ekpo appealed for calm and understanding from Nigerians, assuring them that the situation was temporary and would normalise by next week.
The minister attributed the price increase to two main factors: the industrial action by PENGASSAN at the Dangote refinery and the ongoing maintenance activities at the Nigeria LNG Train 4 facility.
He explained that the strike by PENGASSAN at the Dangote refinery temporarily halted LPG loading, while the maintenance work at NLNG reduced the volume of gas available in the domestic market.
