The Minister of State Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, yesterday expressed deep concern over the continuous increase in the price of the commodity.
This is even as the Government has made efforts to address the issue. Cooking gas prices had continued to fluctuate, recently soaring to N1,500.
The price of cooking gas increased from an average of N1,100 to N1,250 per kg that it sold in previous months.
Recall that in a move to tackle the soaring price of cooking gas, the Minister had established a high-level Committee in November 2023.
The Committee was led by the Authority Chief Executive of the Nigerian Midstream Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Mr. Farouk Ahmed. It also comprised of key stakeholders in the LPG value chain.
Expressing worries over the development yesterday in Abuja, the Minister’s spokesman, Louis Ibah in a statement convened stakeholders meeting.
According to the statement, the meeting is to address the skyrocketing price and its attendant hardship on Nigerians.
It added that the Minister, in trying to solve the gas issue had issued several directives. These range from short term to long term solutions.
The statement said: “ With effect from November 1, 2024, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) and LPG producers are to stop exporting LPG produced in-country. Or import equivalent volumes of LPG exported at cost reflective prices.”
The Minister also directed that the NMDPRA will engage stakeholders to create a domestic LPG pricing framework within 90 days. And would employ indexing price to cost of in-country production.
He stated that this should be done rather than the current practice of indexing against external markets. Such as the Americas and Far East Asia. Whereas the commodity is produced in-country.
Ekpo stated that the marketers expect Nigerian people to pay much higher price for an essential commodity the country is naturally endowed with.
The Minister, however, stated that within 12 months, facilities will be developed to blend, store, and deliver LPG. Ending exports until the market achieves sufficiency and price stability.
The directives are a step towards addressing the inherent challenges and ensuring Nigerians have access to affordable cooking gas.
“The new measures aim to improve availability and ensure affordability. And to protect Nigerians from the economic hardship caused by LPG price hike,” the Minister said.
source: ThisDay
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