NAIJA NEWS
Gas marketers have revealed that a cabal of terminal operators is behind the recent product price increase.
The marketers, under the aegis of the Nigerian Association of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers (NLPGM), blamed the situation on the plot consisting of confident marketers who decide the price of LPG to the detriment of the average Nigerian consumer.
Naija News reports that the President of the (NLPGM) Oladapo Olatunbosun, told the National Assembly at a session with the Senate Committee on Gas yesterday that even though the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas has provided consistent and uninterrupted supply, some group significant marketers of the product have taken prices into their own hands.
He said, “The Cabals are making it difficult for the average Nigerian to have access to gas. As of today, gas is sold by these terminal owners for N16.8m for 20 metric tonnes, whereas NNLG sells to them for a little bit less than N9m.
“Some of them are NAVGas, NIPCOPLC, Matrix Energy Ltd, Prudent Energy Ltd, Shafa Energy, Techno Gas, StockGap Ltd, Mobil, Pan Ocean Limited, NNPC, OLogbo, NSPC Apapa, SHELL, Dozzy LPG terminal.
“When people go to fill their gas today, the least they get is N1,200 per KG; imagine the pain of Nigerians. In the Nigeria of today, can a student or menial worker afford to cook a cup of beans with a N1,200 cost of gas.”
Speaking further, Olatunbosun explained that Nigerians have no business of buying gas at such an exorbitant price because of the volume of gas reserves and production in Nigeria.
However, the terminal operators give flimsy excuses, including foreign exchange transactions, to justify their continuous price hikes.
The NLPGM president continued, “Even countries like Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, and the rest are no match to Nigerians in terms of gas production, but the prices of gas in Nigeria is lower in those countries that here where we are the second largest producer of the gas production in Africa after Algeria, yet our people cannot afford to cook with gas.
“We produce gas more than we import; in fact, the proportion imported is so insignificant, but these cabals have refused to allow Nigerians to enjoy the dividends of this production and the efforts put in by the government.
“These cabals have also made the practice of hiding behind forex, but the question is, does NNLG get paid in dollars? No. All the transactions are completed in naira. What is the role of forex in this situation? Where is import evidence?
“You buy gas for N9m from NNLG and pay in naira, then you sell the same gas for N16m and blackmail the government.
“When people get to our plants, and we tell them the price, they start weeping and cursing the government, whereas the government has done their best to make life bearable to the people.”
He, therefore, appealed to the Senator Jarigbe-led Committee to make urgent intervention to save the average Nigerian consumer from the…
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