Nigerian households are facing renewed financial strain as the price of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), commonly known as cooking gas, has spiked sharply across major cities. Retail prices have surged to between ₦1,800 and ₦2,000 per kilogram, up from a previous average rate of ₦1,300 per kg.
According to market reports, this price hike has driven the cost of refilling a 12.5kg cooking gas cylinder to between ₦22,500 and ₦25,000 at depots and retail stations. This steep increase compounds existing economic pressures on consumers who are already dealing with high food prices, transportation costs, and general inflation.
Gas dealers and industry marketers have attributed the sharp price increase to several critical operational factors, including:
Acute supply shortages nationwide.
Rising depot prices, forcing retailers to adjust rates to cover operating costs.
Logistical issues and escalating operational challenges.
Depot costs have surged to between ₦25.2 million and ₦26.2 million per 20 metric tonnes, forcing retailers to pass these higher expenses down to consumers. This is the grim reality on the ground, yet the Federal Government of Nigeria appears unperturbed.
The kitchen used to be a place of nourishment. Today, for millions of ordinary Nigerians, it is a source of daily anxiety. The recent, relentless spike in the price of LPG has evolved from a market inconvenience into a full-blown humanitarian crisis.
As prices soar beyond the reach of the average citizen, the country’s most vulnerable populations are bearing the brunt of a harsh economic reality, which is further exacerbated by a federal government that appears either unable or unwilling to arrest the slide.
For poor and middle-class households, cooking gas is no longer a basic utility; it is a luxury. Refilling a standard 12.5kg cylinder now requires a significant portion of the monthly minimum wage. In a country where food inflation is already at historic highs, this energy crisis forces families into impossible choices. When the cost of fuel matches or exceeds the cost of ingredients, a family cannot eat.
Desperate families are reverting to charcoal, kerosene, and firewood. Cooking with dirty biomass fuels inside poorly ventilated homes is the equivalent of smoking packs of cigarettes daily. It directly causes respiratory illnesses, heart disease, and eye damage, disproportionately affecting women and young children.
It is an undeniable truth that energy poverty feeds economic poverty. When a massive chunk of a worker’s daily income is swallowed up just to boil water or cook a meal, nothing is left for healthcare, education, or savings.
Furthermore, the mass return to firewood accelerates deforestation. Forests are being stripped bare to meet the sudden surge in demand for charcoal, worsening soil erosion and undermining the nation’s climate commitments.
Small-scale food vendors—the “Mama Puts” who feed millions of urban labourers—are also facing closure. They cannot absorb the gas hikes, and raising their prices risks losing their poverty-stricken customer base.
A Chronicle of Inaction by the Federal Government of Nigeria
The current administration’s handling of this crisis exposes a profound disconnect between state policy and the lived experience of its citizens. While officials offer generic promises of future relief, their actions—and lack thereof—tell a story of systematic policy failure.
Despite Nigeria boasting some of the largest natural gas reserves in the world, the domestic market remains hostage to supply bottlenecks, arbitrary pricing, and inadequate local distribution networks. The government has failed to dismantle the logistical monopolies that keep prices artificially high.
Additionally, the government’s flip-flop policy on Value Added Tax (VAT) and import duties for LPG equipment has injected instability into the market, as importers pass these erratic costs directly down to the consumer.
Why local producers are allowed to price domestic gas based on international export rates is difficult to understand. It is unrealistic and stands as an unpardonable act of wickedness toward the citizenry.
Worse still, the federal government has failed to enforce a sustainable domestic supply obligation that prioritizes the survival of its own citizens over foreign-exchange earnings.
Programmes aimed at distributing free gas cylinders or subsidizing clean cooking conversion have largely degenerated into empty political rhetoric. These interventions reach only a fraction of the population while the vast majority are left to burn in silence.
Every responsible government’s primary duty is the welfare of its people. To fix this ugly trend, the federal government must move past press releases and implement immediate structural changes:
Enforce strict domestic quotas on gas producers to ensure the local market is saturated before any product is exported.
Permanently remove all taxes and tariffs on LPG and clean cooking accessories.
Subsidize gas directly for low-income households through verifiable social register networks.
