Business

Cooking Gas Demand Falls By 38%, Marketers Clash Over Price

Published

3 years ago

May 29, 2022

Editor

National cooking gas demand has dropped by 38 percent, according to the Nigerian Association of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers, NALPGAM.

The revelation came on the heels of clamours by a group of experts on Tuesday that demand for Liquefied Natural Gas, popularly known as cooking gas, had dropped to a record low across the country.

The President of the Nigerian Gas Association, Ed Ubong, said at a downstream event in Lagos that national gas consumption had dropped due to high prices.

The Executive Secretary of NALPGAM, Bassey Essien, also confirmed the development to The PUNCH during a telephone interview.

Following the clamour, NALPGAM, President Oladapo Olatunbosun, on Wednesday, said gas demand had dropped from 1.2 million metric tonnes per annum (mmtpa) to around 750,000mtpa.

“We are aware that the local consumption of cooking gas has dropped from 1.2 million metric tonnes per annum (mmtpa) to around 750,000mtpa out of which about 600,000 mtpa is supplied by local producers,” he said, bringing the percentage drop in demand to 37.5 percent per annum.

This brings to fore, the achievement of President Buhari’s National Gas Expansion Programme which seeks to deepen local gas usage within the next decade.

The Federal Government had targeted a consumption of 5mn metric tonnes per annum.

Olatunbosunalso alleged that the Nigeria Liquefied Petroleum Gas Association inflated price of a 20metric tons by 100 percent.

According to him, gas importers who were members of NLPGA sold to plant owners at N12.7million per 20metric tons (MT) despite purchasing the product at around N7 million per 20MT from NLNG and other local producers.

While NALPGAM is the association of indigenous private companies with operating gas bottling plants with membership spread across the country, the NLPGA is the umbrella body of all stakeholders including importers, skid owners and also players in the LPG sector in Nigeria.

According to him, cooking gas, as at Monday, May 23, was N750 per kilogram(Kg) at the depot and was sold at N800/kg at the retail end in Lagos, Ogun and some states in the South West, while the same quantity went as high as N900 to N1000 per kg at retail end in Gombe and Bayelsa and other states.

He said, “It does not make economic sense to be supplied with a receipt of around N7 million per 20MT and sell to consumers at the same price that imported LPG landed in Nigeria.

“Give us the exact figure of LPG your members got from NLNG. We are aware that the local consumption of cooking gas has dropped from 1.2 million metric tonnes per annum(mmtpa) to around 750,000mtpa out of which about 600,000 mtpa is supplied by local producers.”

The General Manager, External Relations & Sustainable Development, NLNG, Andy Odeh, told Sunday PUNCH in an email response that it could not disclose its contractual agreement with its customers. “We have no comments on your enquiries as our sales terms are confidential and commercially sensitive information,” he said, when asked to disclose the price it sold to marketers.

While speaking during one of the technical sessions on the topic ‘Gas as a catalyst for sustainable economic development- The role of Nigerian Content’, at ‘The Nigerian Content Midstream and Downstream Oil and Gas Summit 2022’ organised by the Nigerian Content and Development Monitoring Board, NCDMB, in Lagos on Tuesday, gas stakeholders unanimously submitted that national gas consumption was currently very low and expressed worry over the dwindling purchasing power of Nigerians.

PUNCH

Business

CBN Directs Banks To Refund Failed ATM Transactions Within 48hrs

Published

10 hours ago

October 11, 2025

Editor

The Central Bank of Nigeria has directed Deposit Money Banks and other financial institutions to refund customers for failed Automated Teller Machine transactions within 48 hours, in a sweeping reform aimed at protecting consumers and restoring confidence in the banking system.

The directive is contained in a draft guideline released by the apex bank on Saturday, titled “Exposure of the Draft Guidelines on the Operations of Automated Teller Machines in Nigeria.”

The document, signed by Musa I. Jimoh, Director of Payments System Policy Department, was circulated to banks, payment service providers, card schemes, and independent ATM deployers, with a call for stakeholder feedback by October 31, 2025.

Under the draft, failed “on-us” transactions, where customers use their own bank’s ATM, must be reversed instantly. If technical glitches prevent immediate reversal, the bank is required to manually refund the customer within 24 hours.

For “not-on-us” transactions, involving other banks’ ATMs, refunds must be processed within 48 hours.

“Customers must not be made to suffer for failed transactions caused by system errors or network failures,” the circular stressed.

In a significant shift, the CBN mandated banks and ATM acquirers to deploy technology that automatically reverses failed or partial transactions, removing the need for customers to lodge complaints.

Institutions holding customer funds due to failed disbursements must reconcile and return balances immediately.

According to the apex bank, these measures respond to widespread frustration over delayed refunds and poor customer service and form part of a broader effort to enhance consumer protection, improve reliability, and modernise Nigeria’s payment infrastructure in line with global standards.

The guidelines will also overhaul ATM operations nationwide. Banks and card issuers are now required to deploy at least one ATM for every 5,000 active cards, with phased targets of 30% compliance in 2026, 60% in 2027, and full compliance by 2028. Any future deployment, relocation, or decommissioning of ATMs must receive prior approval from the CBN.

To ensure safety, ATMs must be fitted with anti-skimming devices, CCTV cameras, and placed in enclosed or well-lit areas.

Machines are expected to comply with Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards, maintain audit logs, and display functional helpdesk contacts. At least 2% of all ATMs must feature tactile symbols for visually impaired customers.

ATMs are also required to dispense cash before returning cards, allow free PIN changes, issue receipts for all transactions except balance inquiries, display clear transaction fees, dispense only clean banknotes, and provide backup power to reduce downtime.

Downtime must not exceed 72 consecutive hours, after which operators must inform the public of the cause and expected restoration time.

The CBN will enforce compliance through regular audits, on-site inspections, and monthly reports from ATM operators detailing deployments and locations. Defaulting institutions risk sanctions, though fines were not specified.

The apex bank explained that the overhaul was necessary due to rising complaints about failed transactions, cyber fraud, and declining service quality, noting that “the goal is to build a payments system that works seamlessly for everyone, urban and rural users alike.”

Nigeria’s electronic payments landscape has grown rapidly in recent years, with 200 million cardholders and rising reliance on digital banking, but network failures, poor infrastructure, and delayed reversals have continued to undermine confidence.

The fresh guidelines, coming eight months after a revision of ATM fees, are expected to streamline service delivery, enhance transaction security, and hold banks accountable. Stakeholders are invited to submit feedback ahead of the final policy adoption, which could take effect before the end of the year.

Business

Nigerian Stock Market Hits 10th Consecutive Uptrend As investors Gain N308bn

Published

2 days ago

October 10, 2025

Editor

The Nigerian Stock Market recorded its 10th consecutive uptrend as investors raked in N308 billion gain on Thursday.

This comes as the Nigerian Exchange Limited, NGX, market capitalisation, which opened at N92.490 trillion, appreciated by 0.33 per cent to close at N92.798 trillion on Thursday.

Also, the All-Share Index added 0.33 per cent, or 485.25 points, to close at 146,204.34, compared with 145,719.09 recorded on Wednesday.

Increased trading in Eunisell Interlinked, Caverton Offshore Support Group, Sunu Assurances, Industrial and Medical Gases, Mecure, and 27 other advancing stocks boosted market performance on Thursday.

To this end, the market breadth also closed positive with 32 gainers and 21 losers.

Further analysis showed that Eunisell Interlinked and Caverton Offshore Support Group led the gainers’ chart by 10 per cent each, closing at N44 and N6.93 per share, respectively, while FTN Cocoa Processors led the losers’ table by 6.67 per cent, closing at N5.60 per share.

Market activity showed a decline in the number of deals and volume traded but an improvement in trade value.

Accordingly, a total of 346.99 million shares worth N27.43 billion were traded in 24,691 deals, compared with 525.72 million shares worth N13.61 billion exchanged in 25,597 deals on Wednesday.

Fidelity Bank topped the activity chart with 42.01 million shares valued at N861.54 million.

According to DAILY POST, NGX has continued its bullish run from last month’s end to date.

Business

CBN Sets POS Maximum Transactions In Fresh Guidelines

Published

3 days ago

October 8, 2025

Editor

The Central Bank of Nigeria has rolled out fresh guidelines for agent banking, known as Point of Sales, across the country.

The apex also in the guidelines pegged daily POS transactions at N1.2 million per agent and N100,000 per individual.

CBN disclosed this in a circular signed by its Director of the Payments System Management Department, Musa Jimoh.

The guidelines further mandate all financial institutions to publish the list of all their POS agents on their website and to display it in their branches.

CBN noted that the guidelines would take effect from April 1, 2026.

“The Guidelines aim to establish minimum standards for operating agent banking in Nigeria, enhancing agent banking to provide financial services and promoting financial inclusion, encouraging responsible market conduct and improving service quality in agent banking operations.

“This circular takes effect from the date of release, while the implementation of agent location and agent exclusivity shall be in effect from April 1, 2026.

“POS agents are restricted to a maximum of N1.2 million per day. Individual customers are limited to N100,000 in daily transactions.

“These limits are intended to curb misuse, enhance financial integrity, and protect consumers within the agent banking framework,” it stated.