Average price of 5kg liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) popularly called cooking gas rose to N4,456.56 in August, from N4,397.68 in July, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), said in its Cooking Gas Price Watch released on Tuesday in Abuja.
The Bureau said the price in August indicated a 1.34% increase on a month-on-month basis from what obtained in July.
“On a year-on-year basis, the August 2022 price was a 101.17% increase over the price of N2,215.33 paid for the same volume of gas in August 2021,” it stated.
According to the report, Taraba recorded the highest average price of N4,925.44, for 5kg cooking gas, followed by Adamawa where it cost N4,920, and Lagos State where it sold for N4,782.50.
It stated also that Katsina State recorded the lowest price of N4,020 in August, followed by Ogun and Yobe at N4,057.14 and N4,078.46, respectively.
Analysis by geopolitical zones showed that the North-Central recorded the highest average retail price of N4,615.95 for 5kg cooking gas, followed by the North-East at N4,548.03.
The North-West recorded the lowest retail price at N4,285.51.
The NBS report also put the average retail price of 12.5kg cooking gas increased to 9,899.34 in August 2022 from N9,824.07 in July, representing a 0.77% month-on-month increase.
“On a year-on-year basis, the price rose by 119.26% from N4,514.82 in August 2021,” it stated.
The report revealed that the highest retail price was recorded in Ebonyi at N11,225 for 12.5kg, followed by Cross River N10,982.14 and Delta N10,965.42.
The lowest average price was recorded in Katsina State at N8,150 followed by Yobe and Taraba at N8,212.63 and N8,886.30, respectively.
…without access to clean, modern energy, it is impossible to achieve the SDGs to reduce poverty, broaden education and improve public health.
Affordable energy
The astronomical rise in the price of cooking gas undermines the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7), which calls for “affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all” by 2030, and targets to ensure universal access to affordable, reliable and modern energy services.
Ironically, gas is Nigeria’s energy transition fuel with the Federal Government declaring a Decade for Gas from January 1, 2021 till 2030, to demonstrate efforts of the federal government in increasing the usage of gas as the energy of choice among Nigerians.
Part of the plan includes reaching 20 million homes through the National Gas Expansion Program, which is targeted at increasing the country’s Liquefied Petroleum Gas penetration currently estimated at national average of 13%.
But with the steep rise in the price of cooking gas, amid continuous flaring of associated gas in hydrocarbon operations rather than being harnessed for alternative uses, there is no guarantee that the Federal Government would meet targeted objectives by 2030.
This is because more homes are going back to the use of dirty fuels including charcoal and firewood for cooking due to the high cost of LPG, with attendant environmental and health implications.
Indeed, Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) insists that without access to clean, modern energy, it is impossible to achieve the SDGs to reduce poverty, broaden education and improve public health.
“For example, replacing out-dated stoves and open fires would save the lives of 800,000 children who die each year from exposure to indoor air pollution,” it added.
SEforALL noted that an annual investment of $4.4 billion is required to close access gaps, yet only $32 million in finance commitments for clean cooking solutions were tracked—representing less than one per cent of the estimated finance required for universal clean cooking access by 2030.
