The recent surge in cooking gas prices across Nigeria was largely artificial and driven by supply disruptions from the recent industrial strike between the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) and Dangote Group, according to Bayo Ojulari, Group CEO of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).
Speaking to reporters after meeting with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in Abuja late Sunday, Ojulari sought to reassure concerned Nigerians that the price increases were temporary and linked directly to logistical challenges during the labour action.
News.ng observed over the weekend that the cost of refilling a 12.5kg gas cylinder increased from N17,500 to N25,000, making it an all-time high in recent years.
The NNPCL chief explained that the industrial action involving the PENGASSAN and Dangote Refinery had immediate effects on gas distribution networks.
“Yeah, so the increase you saw was relatively artificial because, you know, for the period of the strike, what that meant was that quite movements and loading were delayed by about two, three days, right? And because of that, you see that impact,” Ojulari stated.
He emphasized that the price spike was not due to fundamental supply or production issues but rather temporary logistical bottlenecks. “As things return back to normal, it takes some time for a distribution to be fully restored. So that delay, and of course, as you know, with Nigerians, people take opportunity,” the CEO noted.
Ojulari suggested that some market participants exploited the temporary supply constraints for profit. “With that delay, some of the people that have existing resources and reserves had to put up the price,” he explained, pointing to opportunistic pricing by dealers with existing inventory.
With the strike now resolved and normal operations resuming, the NNPCL boss expressed confidence that cooking gas prices would return to pre-strike levels.
“My expectation is that now that things are back to normal, prices should return to what they were before the strike,” Ojulari assured consumers.
The clarification comes as many Nigerian households have struggled with the increased cost of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), commonly known as cooking gas, which is essential for daily meal preparation in millions of homes across the country.
As distribution channels normalize and loading operations return to regular schedules, relief appears to be on the horizon for consumers who have borne the brunt of the temporary price surge.
