The Nigerian Association of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers (NALPGAM) has raised concern over the rising prices of cooking gas across the country, saying that the current prices are artificial.

The National President of the Association, Oladapo Olatunbosun, raised the alarm when he appeared as a guest on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Wednesday.

Olatunbosun was reacting to the current product scarcity, caused mainly by the crisis between members of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) and the Dangote Refinery.

The strike had resulted in prices skyrocketing between about ₦1,700 and ₦2,000 per kilogram, depending on the location, and at ₦3,000 in some extreme cases.

However, while speaking on Wednesday, Olatunbosun said there had been no official increment in prices, blaming the price hike on market opportunists.

“I sympathise with Nigerians as the President of NALPGAM because we never intended to have a situation like this.

“I must say it categorically that prices of cooking gas have not gone up. No increment has been done officially.

“What is happening is that some marketers are taking advantage of the shortage in supply and the market forces that have increased demand. They are cashing up to make good money, which is wrong.

“We frown at this as an Association, and I’m happy that by the grace of God, normalcy will return in the next few days.”

He explained the reasons behind the current LPG scarcity.

“About a year and a few months ago, one kilogram of gas was between ₦1,200-₦1,300, but it recently came down due to the production by Dangote. Dangote eliminated middlemen, and that made gas to land at a reasonable price.

“But what actually caused the temporary artificial prices and scarcity is that; before the strike, when you load from Dangote, he sends out about 50 trucks per day, which is good because it served the South West and some part of the North well, and if you add it to what you get from Apapa, and other depots in Lagos, because they also source their products from IOCs.”