Just weeks after the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) announced a decline in the average cost of refilling a 5kg cylinder of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) — from ₦8,243.79 in July to ₦6,404.02 in August 2025 — prices of cooking gas have surged sharply across Lagos and Ogun states.
A market survey by The Guardian revealed that a kilogram of gas now sells between ₦1,800 and ₦3,500, depending on the location, forcing many households to turn to charcoal and electric alternatives.
At Ijeshatedo, Lagos, a consumer lamented the unbearable situation:
“Retailers are selling between ₦3,000 and ₦3,500 per kilogram, while filling stations sell slightly lower at ₦2,500. But the queues are unbearable, with hundreds of customers waiting,” she said.
Residents in Atan, Ogun State, reported paying between ₦2,000 and ₦2,500 per kilogram, while those in Igando paid between ₦1,800 and ₦2,000, depending on location and supplier.
The President of the Nigerian Association of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers (NALPGAM), Olatunbosun Oladapo, attributed the sudden spike to temporary disruptions caused by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) strike and internal maintenance activities at the Dangote Refinery.
“At the moment, most of our LPG supply is produced locally. Importation is minimal, and if you import now, you might incur losses because local production has significantly increased,” Oladapo explained.
He added that while the strike affected vessel berthing at Lagos terminals, NLNG had supplied large volumes to Port Harcourt, which helped the South-South region avoid severe shortages. He assured that normalcy would return soon as suppliers resume full-scale operations.
However, energy law expert and Partner at Bloomfield LP, Dr. Ayodele Oni, criticised the recurring scarcity despite reports of improved gas production.
“Higher upstream production doesn’t automatically mean more domestic LPG supply because a large portion of the output is still exported,” Oni said.
He noted that while domestic gas sales rose by 22% year-on-year to about 65,632 metric tonnes in March 2025, much of the volume was monetised through exports instead of being channelled into local bottling and retail, leaving local consumers to bear the brunt of shortages and high prices.