Lagosians groan over hike in cooking gas price
The price of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), often known as cooking gas, has risen to an all-time high in Lagos, squeezing homes and small businesses as the Federal Government seeks to crack down on suspected hoarders.
As of Monday, a kilogramme of LPG sold for between N2,500 and N3,000 in various sections of the state, a significant rise over the N1,000 per kilogramme reported in August.
According to market reports, the cost of refilling a 12.5kg cylinder in some areas in Lagos has risen to more than N25,000.
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, in a statement issued by his spokesperson Louis Ibah, directed relevant regulatory agencies to take “immediate enforcement action” against marketers found hoarding products or inflating prices.
“This situation is unacceptable. The government will not allow a few operators to exploit citizens,” Ekpo said, adding that normal supply is expected to resume within a week.
Officials attributed the sudden spike to two major disruptions, the recent PENGASSAN strike at the Dangote Refinery and ongoing maintenance work at the Nigeria LNG Train 4 facility, both of which have significantly reduced gas supply to the domestic market.
Although the strike was suspended nearly two weeks ago, supply levels have yet to stabilise. Several gas depots in some areas in Lagos reportedly operated below capacity on Monday, with long queues of tankers waiting to load.
Data from the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, shows the sharp reversal in price trends. In August 2025, the average retail price for a 12.5kg cylinder fell by 21.42% to N16,195.07, before the recent surge wiped out those gains.
