Cooking Gas Prices Soar in Nigeria Amidst Economic Woes
According to Nigeria’s National Bureau of Statistics, NBS data released Monday, the price increased by 58.68 per cent from N10,545.87 in October 2023.
Accordingly, analysis state wise shows Rivers State records the highest price jump for a 12.5kg cylinder at N17,895.00, followed by Osun at N17,739.06 and Benue at N17,731.25 while in Katsina the price is lower at N14,725.00.
Nasarawa which shares border with Abuja recorded an increase at N15,390.55 while Adamawa in North East of Nigeria witnessed a jump to N15,474.21.
On regional basis as revealed by the NBS, South-South region reports the highest average price for refilling a 12.5kg cylinder at N17,114.67, followed by the South-East at N16,906.19. The North-Central region records the lowest average price at N16,411.19.
The numbers also revealed that the average price of refilling 5Kg Cylinder of cooking gas On a Year-on-year basis, jumped by 51.58 per cent, climbing from N4,562.51 in October 2023 to N6,915.69 in October 2024.
Regional analysis revealed that the North-East recorded the highest average price for cooking gas, with residents paying N7,319.03 for a 5kg cylinder. Contrarily, the North-West reports the lowest regional average at N6,703.95, which is below the national average.
State-by-state breakdown showed Borno emerged as the state with the highest price for refilling a 5kg cylinder at N7,939.29, followed by Yobe at N7,580.00 and Benue at N7,578.00. Katsina posts the lowest average price at N6,270.00, followed by Zamfara at N6,410.71 and Delta at N6,427.78.
Experts have said that the continuous increase in cooking gas prices places additional pressure on households already struggling with the hike in food prices and transportation.
The solution, they said, is for the federal government to boost local production of LPG and address the foreign exchange issues to make importing the product cheaper so it becomes more affordable and accessible to Nigerians.