Business

Cooking Gas Price Drops, Supply Rises, Govt Projects Further Decrease

Published

4 years ago

January 7, 2022

The Federal Government on Thursday said it was putting measures in place to ensure further reduction in the cost of Liquefied Petroleum Gas, popularly called cooking gas.

It disclosed this while reacting to the recent marginal drop in the cost of cooking gas.

According to findings, the price of 12.5kg LPG has dropped from N8,800 to between N8400 and N8200. In some outlets, the price of the commodity dropped to between N7,800 and N8,000 as of Thursday.

In November, The PUNCH exclusively reported that the cost of LPG kept rising in 2021, jumping by more than 240 per cent between January and October 2021.

The development forced some LPG users to shift to charcoal or firewood, as consumers of the commodity raised the alarm over the persistent hike in its price.

The product had increased by 240 per cent for 12.5kg, moving up from N3,000 to N10,200 within the first 10 months of 2021.

“It is in government’s interest for the price to go down consistently and there are certain initiatives that are being taken at the moment, which hopefully will see to further drops in price regardless of the international cost,” the Programme Manager, National LPG Expansion Implementation Plan, Office of the Vice President, Dayo Adeshina, stated.

When asked to state one of such initiatives, he replied, “The discussions are still ongoing and there are certain things that you can do to stimulate the market which will have an effect. One of them also has to do with storage.”

About 65 per cent of the LPG is imported into Nigeria, while domestic production accounts for 35 per cent, hence the cost of the commodity in the global market affects the price locally.

Adeshina told The PUNCH correspondent that the international price of the LPG had risen so high in October last year, but dipped towards the end of 2021 into January 2022, as this also contributed to the recent drop in the LPG price across the country.

He said, “If you look at the international pricing of the LPG, and that might change again because it is not a fixed price, in January last year, it was $250 per tonne.

“It rose to $875 per tonne by the end of October and started dropping by the end of November into December, and came down to around $500 per tonne at some point but went up again in December to $708 per tonne.”

He added, “Now, as of the third of January this year, that figure is $744 per tonne. So you can see there is a drop from about $800 around November to $700 in January. The issue here is that the price has been fluctuating.

“Yes you have the effects of Customs and the position of the VAT that made people pay tax for what they imported even in 2019 and 2020. Of course, some importers stopped importing, but there is a resolution going on to resolve that aspect.”

Adeshina assured Nigerians that the government would come up with additional measures that would see to a further reduction in cooking gas prices regardless of the price fluctuation in the global market.

Commenting on the development, the National Chairman, Liquefied Petroleum Gas Retailers Association of Nigeria, Michael Umudu, confirmed the drop in LPG price, attributing it to the increase in supply by the NNPC and NLNG.

“Also, many LPG users stopped using the commodity at the time when the price kept increasing and this reduced demand pressure on cooking gas, hence causing a rise in its availability and then a gradual drop in price,” he stated.

Asked whether the Federal Government had removed the VAT on cooking gas imports, Umudu replied, “It (government) has not been enforcing the tax and has remained silent about it, but has not said anything about removing it. This also has helped in price reduction.”

Last month, the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Mele Kyari, said the NNPC was increasing the supply of the LPG in a bid to force down its price.

Kyari said, “Two things are in play. One is the supply in the international market of gas. It moves with the price of every other petroleum product including crude oil and its derivatives.

“So definitely, it is a reflection of what is happening in the international market. However, what we are doing is to increase supply and once supply increases, price will come down.”

Business

Fixed Income: CBN Announces Fresh Regulations To Control Nigerian Market

Published

2 days ago

October 3, 2025

Editor

The Central Bank of Nigeria has announced sweeping regulations to take control of the Nigerian fixed income market.

The regulations expected to begin in November are aimed at boosting transparency across Nigeria’s financial sector.
The apex bank disclosed this in a recent statement.

CBN noted that the intervention is a key part of broader financial market reforms.

Accordingly, it said its core objective is to enhance regulatory oversight and strengthen the market’s ability to effectively support the transmission of monetary policy and, ultimately, foster economic growth.

“This transition will enable the CBN to assume direct responsibility for the management of the trading platform and handle end-to-end settlement activities under the bank’s established settlement system for financial market transactions,” the statement read.

According to DAILY POST, Fixed income securities refer to investments which provide a return in the form of fixed periodic interest payments and the eventual return of the principal at maturity.

Business

Confusion Over Euro-Africa CCI’s $250m Investment In Edo

Published

6 days ago

September 29, 2025

Editor

The $250m investment deal Governor Monday Okpebholo claimed to have secured during his recent trip to Scotland is generating ripples over capacity of the European African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (EACCI) to make such a huge investment.

The EACCI, headed by a Drector General, Dr. Kingsley Obasohan, is not known to have made any prior investment in Edo State or any part of the country.

Obasohan, who attended the Edo State Global Investment Summit virtually, announced the $250m investment.

He said the investment would be made for a period of three years.

An online search was launched to unravel the EACCI as well as the man Obasohan.

A number on the site was answered by a lady who claimed not to understand English language.

Several foreign partners were listed on the site as board members and advisory council.

Some closed associates of Obasohan said he would have to get clearance from the Board members before talking to journalists on the issue.

Spokesman for the Edo Peoples Democratic Party, Daniel Noah Osa-Ogbegi, said the party would hold Governor Okpebholo accountable to Edo people and demanded clarity on the $250m investment from Glasgow.

Osa-Ogbegi said the proposed investment has become a source of embarrassment to Edo people because of unfolding information about EACCI.

He said the party would shine light on fiscal management practices that appeared to ignore transparency and responsibility.

Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Umar Musa Ikhilo, had earlier said those that attended the Glasgow summit were interested in keying into the SHINE agenda of Governor Okpebholo.

“One of the chambers of commerce that attended, the European African Chamber of Commerce and Industry signed an MoU with the Edo State Government to invest a sum of $250 million over the next three to five years.

“Last year, diaspora remittances were the second-highest source of foreign income in Nigeria after crude oil, over $20 billion, but only 2% of that went into investment. We are creating a vehicle to help convert more of that into direct investments.”

He added that a delegation from Scotland was expected to visit Edo State in the coming months to explore specific investment projects as a follow-up to the summit.

Business

Dangote Hits Out At PENGASSAN, Says Union ‘Serial Saboteurs, Serving Oligarchs’

Published

7 days ago

September 28, 2025

Editor

The management of Dangote Petroleum Refinery has berated the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), accusing the union of decades-long sabotage of Nigeria’s oil and gas sector and serving the interests of its leaders rather than ordinary Nigerians.

In a statement issued at the weekend, the refinery described PENGASSAN’s latest directive to cut crude oil and gas supplies to the facility as another act of economic sabotage designed to inflict untold hardship on Nigerians.

“Indeed, over time, the Association has consistently proved itself as serving interests other than those of Nigerians and Nigerian workers,” the statement declared.

Dangote recalled that in 2007, when the Federal Government sold its moribund Port Harcourt and Kaduna refineries to Blue Star Consortium, led by the Dangote Group, for $750 million, it was PENGASSAN and its ally, the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), that sabotaged the deal. “It is now obvious to everyone that the FGN’s decision at the time was the right one and that PENGASSAN and NUPENG ignominiously wrote their names on the wrong pages of history,” the company said.

The refinery also faulted the union’s role in the much-publicised rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt Refinery, describing it as a “ruse” which PENGASSAN “knowingly celebrated despite being a scam on Nigerians.” The statement further accused the union of opposing amendments to the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) that would have freed up federal liquidity and attracted private-sector funding into Nigeria’s upstream oil ventures.

Beyond policy obstruction, Dangote Refinery accused the association of mismanaging billions of naira in annual check-off dues to allegedly bankroll the “lavish lifestyles” of its leaders, without accountability to members. By contrast, the refinery highlighted its own record of economic contributions within a short period, citing road construction, worker training, the creation of thousands of Nigerian jobs, and a compensation structure that “outdistances the best in the Nigerian oil and gas industry.”

“The Dangote Group is the highest employer of labor in Nigeria and the highest contributor to the tax revenues of Nigeria and its sub-nationals. What comparable social responsibility has PENGASSAN, with its billions of Naira in annual check-off dues and subscriptions, lived up to?” the statement queried, challenging the union to publish its audited accounts for the past ten years. “Can it publish publicly its account for the last 10 years and list out its corporate responsibility activities within that timeframe?”

The refinery insisted that PENGASSAN’s recent directive to withdraw services and cut off essential fuel supplies, including but not limited to petrol, diesel, kerosene, cooking gas and aviation fuel was reckless, lawless and dangerous. It said the order is not about protecting Nigerian workers, but it is about a cabal of oligarchs weaponising hardship against over 230 million Nigerians.

“In the process, it (PENGASSAN) cares little if at all about the unbearable hardship and terror it would thereby inflict on all Nigerians, including but not limited to the provision of essential services in our hospitals and medical facilities, schools (nursery and right up to tertiary and research institutions), emergency services, communications facilities, transportation systems, etc,” it said.

Dangote Refinery called on the Federal Government and security agencies to step in immediately to protect the facility and the nation’s energy security, stressing that the union must not be allowed to “bully Nigerians into chaos and economic sabotage.”

According to Tribune Online, the federal government has announced readiness to broker peace between Dangote Refinery and PENGASSAN, inviting both to a meeting scheduled for Monday.