In Abuja, residents continue moaning over scarcity despite price jump from N1,000 to N2,000 per kg
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Residents of Abuja, a very expensive city to live in, have continued to express frustration over the persistent scarcity of cooking gas (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) – an indispensable household item – even with its price hikes North and South.
The price hikes began in Abuja last month from the normal N1,000 per kilogram (kg) at filling stations to N1,500 then to N2,000, N2,500 and N3,000 at smaller retail shops, hikes that have since spread to Lagos and other parts of the country.
At the weekend, refilling a 12.5kg cooking gas cylinder cost between N15,000 and N25,000 in the Kubwa, Lugbe, Dutse, Nyanya axes in Abuja.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), NIPCO, and AYM Shafa Energy sell at N1,200 per kg, but have run out of stock. Other marketers sell at between N1,500 and N2,000 depending on the location.
Only a few gas filling stations – such as NAVGAS, Matrix, NIPCO, and Shafa Energy – sold the product at the weekend at N18,500 for 20 metric tonnes (mt).
“It is frustrating. On Saturday, I carried my cylinder looking for where to buy gas. I ended up buying at N2,000 per kg. I was told filling stations sell at N1,200 per kg, but I didn’t find any in Kubwa,” a resident of the area, Bello Abdullahi, told DAILY POST.
Rita Nwagwu, who lives in Dutse, lamented that “despite the high price of N2,000 per kg in Dutse, most vendors are not selling. I had to use a bike on Friday looking for cooking gas but later bought it at Zone 6 at N2,000 per kg.”
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