The Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), Mr. Bayo Ojulari, has attributed the recent rise in the price of cooking gas across the country to a temporary supply disruption caused by last week’s strike by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN).
Speaking with State House correspondents, Ojulari explained that the industrial action halted loading and distribution for several days, leading to an artificial price increase.
“The increase you saw was relatively artificial because, during the strike, movements and loading were delayed by about two or three days. And because of that, you see that impact. As things return back to normal, it takes some time for distribution to be fully restored,” he said.
He also accused some retailers of exploiting the temporary disruption to inflate prices.
“As you know, in Nigeria, people take opportunity. With that delay, some of the people that had existing resources and reserves had to put up the price,” he added.
Ojulari assured Nigerians that prices are expected to stabilise soon as normal operations resume and supply chains recover.
“My expectation is that now that things are back to normal, prices should return to what they were before the strike,” he stated.
The recent spike in cooking gas prices came shortly after PENGASSAN embarked on an industrial action over the dismissal of Nigerian workers at the Dangote Refinery.