Nigerians cook in tears as gas price rises by 70%

A 70 percent surge in the price of cooking gas has aroused feelings of discontent and despondency in Nigerians, leaving many households struggling to put food on their tables.

For decades, cooking gas has been seen as a cleaner and more efficient alternative to traditional methods like firewood and charcoal. However, the recent price hike has forced many to revert to these older, often more time-consuming, environmentally harmful practices.

Data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed cooking gas (liquefied petroleum gas, LPG) refill price for a 12.5kg cylinder rose 69.15 percent to N15, 552.56 in August 2024, from N9,194.41 in the corresponding period of 2023.

For Lagos-based web developer, Abiodun Adeleke, the price jump feels like a gut punch.

Venting his frustration on X (formerly Twitter), he wrote, “12.5kg cooking gas is now N19,000. Just months ago, it was N9,000. That’s a 100 percent hike in less than a year. How are people surviving this economy?”

It’s not just households that are affected—small businesses, particularly caterers and food vendors who rely on gas for their operations, are facing harsh realities.

Mary Olabuson, a caterer in Ibeju-Lekki, shared her frustration after being forced to walk away from a cooking job due to rising expenses.

“I had a client call me for a job, but after calculating the cost, gas alone took up a huge chunk of the budget. In the end, I had to turn down the offer because the client couldn’t afford my revised rate,” Olabuson said.

Mohammed Ahmed, a street food vendor selling fried yam, has had to make difficult adjustments to stay afloat.

“I have cut down the portions of yam I fry, and I had to raise the price of my fried chicken. My customers are upset and some say they will stop buying from me. But what choice do I have? Gas prices are out of control,” he said.

Despite the federal government’s announcement of the removal of Value Added Tax (VAT) from the commodity since October last year, the prices of cooking gas have failed to drop considerably.

Experts say the foreign exchange volatility in the country has spiked the LNG price as importers find it difficult to access needed funds for the importation of the product.