FCT Residents Decry High Cost Of Cooking Gas

Residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have decried the continuous increase in the price of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), known as cooking gas.
The residents, who spoke to The Tide’s source in Abuja, expressed their views on how the increase was affecting them.
Reports say that the recent data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) had shown that the price of 5kg cooking gas increased by 86.62 per cent in one year from N2,397.60 recorded in September 2021 to N4,474.48 in September 2022.
While on a month-on-month basis, the price increased by 0.40 per cent from N4,456.56 recorded in August 2022 to N4,474.48 in September 2022.
Similarly, the average retail price for refilling a 12.5kg cooking gas increased on a year-on-year basis by 60.69 per cent from N6,164.97 in September 2021 to N9,906.44 in September 2022.
On a month-on-month basis, it rose from N9,899.34 in August 2022 to N9,906.44 in September.
A public servant said the incessant increase had made him reduce the quantity of cooking gas he bought.
“My wife and I decided we had to cut down on the quantity of gas we buy from 12.5kg to 5kg. In addition, we bought an electric cooker to alternate the use of cooking gas.
“Cooking is well planned in my home to conserve gas by cooking in bulk and preserving in the freezer.
“Since more of my income is going to purchasing gas and income has not increased, we have had to cut down on other expenses in the home front,’’ he said.
A retired civil servant,  Mrs Glorious Oni, said the increase had affected her negatively, causing her a lot of financial stress.
“Life is not easy for a retiree, especially a government retiree. The increase in gas has added to the hardship being experienced by retirees.
“I used to buy 12.5kg of cooking gas for between 6,000 to N7000 in 2021. Now it is generally about N11,000 depending on where you buy. It is about N10,000 in the filling station and N11,000 or more outside the station with retailers.
“I hear there will be more increase because of the floods that have affected the gas production plants”, she said.
Oni said she had not considered an alternative to cooking gas because for her it was better than cooking with firewood, kerosene or electricity.
According to her, using electricity to cook is not an option for me because of the high cost of buying units for power as a metered customer.
A restaurant owner, Mrs Blessing Samuel,  said the increasing price of gas was negatively affecting her business and profit margin.