The Federal Government has moved to crash the price of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) otherwise known as cooking gas as it has initiated a process to resolve challenges bordering on the supply and pricing of the product.
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, said he waded into the issue following a rise in the price of LPG per kg from about N700 to above N1,100 in some parts of the country.
According to a statement issued by the Spokesman to the Minister, Louis Ibah, the meeting which was recently held at the instance of the minister at the NNPC Towers Abuja, had in attendance top officials of Chevron Nigeria Limited led by Sansay Narasimi; Nigerian Midstream Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) led by its Chief Executive Officer, Farouk Ahmed and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited.
Some of the key challenges identified as responsible for LPG price increase include sourcing of forex for imports and insufficient supply to the domestic market by producers.
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Ekpo expressed the concerns of President Bola Tinubu over the astronomical increase in the price of cooking gas and the attendant hardship on the majority of citizens.
The minister who noted that Nigeria is abundantly endowed with gas reserves, said the situation where some of the multinational firms were more concerned with gas exports without dedicating huge volumes to the domestic market was unacceptable and should be discouraged.
He stressed the need for Federal Government intervention due to the exponential surge in LPG prices and the challenges of importation and exportation.
A committee was subsequently established by the minister with a mandate to deliver recommendations within a week on how to enhance supplies and reduce LPG prices.
He said, “With the exponential increase in the price of LPG, there is the need for the Federal Government to intervene and I am representing this at this moment.’’