FG Moves Against Cooking Gas Price Hike, Orders Clampdown on Marketers, Racketeers, Hoarders
- The Nigerian government has intervened in the ongoing scarcity and the cooking gas price nationwide
- The Minister of Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpo Ekpo, has ordered a clampdown on marketers hoarding gas or exploiting customers
- The minister blamed the PENGASSAN strike and maintenance work at the LNG Train 4 facility for the scarcity
Pascal Oparada, a reporter for Legit.ng, has over ten years of experience covering technology, energy, stocks, investment, and the economy.
The Nigerian government is taking proactive measures to forestall further scarcity of liquefied natural gas (LPG), also known as cooking gas, nationwide.
The Minister of State for Petroleum (Gas), Ekperikpo Ekpo, has ordered a clampdown on marketers and retailers hoarding or exploiting consumers due to the recent price hikes.
Cooking gas price hits N3,600/kg
Cooking gas prices have skyrocketed by about 80% in the last two weeks.
The minister’s spokesman, Louis Ibah, disclosed this on Monday, October 13, 2025.
Legit.ng previously reported that the cooking gas price rose astronomically from below N1,000 per kilogram to about N3,600 in some cities.
The development was reportedly caused by the picketing of the 650,000 Dangote Refinery by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN).
For almost two weeks after the strike’s suspension, the prices of cooking gas have remained elevated while scarcity deepened.
Despite rate cuts announced by the Dangote Refinery, the commodity’s price remained high in major cities.
FG, NNPC promise price stability
According to a Punch report, Ekpo asked for calm from Nigerians, assuring that the situation would soon normalise.
The minister’s assurance echoed that of the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), Bayo Ojulari.
The NNPC boss had blamed the scarcity and LPG price increases on the suspended PENGASSAN strike, assuring that the product would soon become available.
Why the cooking gas price hike remains
Reports said that the petroleum minister blamed both the PENGASSAN strike and ongoing maintenance at the Nigeria LNG Train 4 facility for the scarcity.
Ekpo said that the PENGASSAN strike temporarily stalled loading at the Dangote Refinery, while maintenance work at the LNG facility reduced gas volume available for the domestic market.
He also noted that the Bonny River Terminal, operated by Seplat Energy, has initiated loading activities, while NLNG is gradually restoring normal operations as its maintenance period concludes.
Petroleum minister makes promises
"These developments are expected to stabilise domestic market supply by next week, leading to a gradual reduction in prices," the minister stated.
Ekpo reiterated the deregulated status of the LPG market and urged marketers, distributors, and other stakeholders within the gas value chain to conduct their operations with a sense of patriotism.
He appealed to them to refrain from hoarding and exploiting consumers for financial gain.
"Ekpo also reaffirms the deregulated nature of the LPG market and implores marketers, distributors, and all stakeholders along the LPG value chain to act patriotically in their dealings, desist from hoarding, and refrain from exploiting consumers for profit.
"To ensure adherence, the minister has directed the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority to intensify monitoring of LPG depots nationwide to prevent product hoarding and other unethical practices that could exacerbate the current situation," the statement added.
Source: Getty Images
The minister assured Nigerians of the Federal Government's unwavering commitment to ensuring an adequate and affordable gas supply for all households across the country.
Cooking gas retailers explain hike in prices
Legit.ng earlier reported that Nigeria’s cooking gas crisis has reached a breaking point as retailers reject accusations of profiteering, insisting that supply shortages, not greed, are behind the 80% surge in prices now hitting ₦3,600 per kilogram nationwide.
The Liquefied Petroleum Gas Retailers Association of Nigeria (LPGAR) under the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) said in Lagos that retailers were not responsible for the ongoing price surge and scarcity of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG).
LPGAR chairman, Ayobami Olarinoye, described as “unfair and misleading” the claims by the Nigerian Association of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers (NALPGAM) that retailers were inflating prices
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Source: Legit.ng
