The Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), Mr. Bayo Ojulari, has explained the reason for the recent increase in cooking gas price across the country.

According to him, the cooking gas price hike was caused by the temporary disruption of operations during the strike by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN).

Speaking with State House correspondents on Sunday after visiting President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, Ojulari said the industrial action halted loading and distribution for several days, leading to an artificial rise in the price.

“The increase you saw was relatively artificial because for the period of the strike, movements and loading were delayed by about two, three days,” he said. “And because of that, you see that impact. As things return back to normal, it takes some time for distribution to be fully restored.”

Ojulari also accused some retailers of taking advantage of the temporary supply disruption to inflate the cooking gas price.

“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 said.