Marketers: No official LPG price hike — retailers taking advantage of scarcity
By: Lauretta Fagbohun, Abeokuta.
The Nigerian Association of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers (NALPGAM) has cautioned that some retailers are exploiting the current supply shortage of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), commonly known as cooking gas, to increase prices.
Oladapo Olatunbosun, NALPGAM’s national president, made this known on Wednesday during an interview on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief.
He stressed that there has been no official increase in the price of LPG, explaining that the current price hike is driven by opportunistic practices amid temporary supply gaps.
“The price of gas has not been officially increased. What is happening is that some people are capitalising on the shortage in supply and market forces to make undue profits. We strongly condemn this, but I am confident that normalcy will return in the coming days,” Olatunbosun said.
He assured Nigerians that once supply stabilises, LPG would continue to be available at affordable rates.
According to Olatunbosun, the artificial scarcity is linked to inconsistent supply from the Dangote refinery and the recent strike action by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN).
He explained that the Dangote refinery had previously supplied around 50 trucks daily, serving the southwest and parts of the north. This complemented supplies from Apapa and other depots in Lagos, which source LPG from international oil companies and other producers.
Dangote’s direct supply strategy had earlier helped reduce costs and discouraged importation. However, maintenance activities at the refinery slowed loading, forcing trucks to wait up to two weeks before accessing products. During this period, Apapa depots covered demand.
“But when PENGASSAN began its strike, vessels could not be offloaded in Apapa as there were no officials to inspect the products. The depots ran dry, and the backlog created a gap of about five days, exposing the fragile supply chain,” he said.
Olatunbosun, however, noted that the situation is already improving, with new vessels expected to ease supply pressures over the weekend.
