Kano residents lament as cooking gas price rises to N2,000 per kilogramme

The price of Liquefied Natural Gas (LPG), commonly known as cooking gas, continues to rise amid acute scarcity in the Kano metropolis. Some of the residents, who spoke in separate interviews with journalists, said the trend exposed them to difficulties in accessing the product. A check on Wednesday in Kano showed that long queues have emerged in the available gas stations/depots, while others ran out of the stock of the product. Prices had shot up by 25 per cent due to the scarcity of the product in the last five days. One kilogramme of cooking gas is being sold between N1,800 and N2,000, depending on the location, while refilling a 12.5kg cylinder costs between N20,000 and N25,000, as against its previous prices of N1,200 and N14,000, respectively. Nura Bala, a resident of Hausawa quarters, said the hike in cooking gas prices was causing a heavy drain on his pocket.
“Cooking gas price has increased. We bought it at N1,500 per kilogramme due to scarcity,” he said. Michelle Emeka, a resident of the Sabon Gari area of the metropolis, said she bought a three-kilogramme cylinder of the product for N6,000. She attributed the scarcity to a drastic drop in the supply of the product in the area. Another customer, Saleh Idris, who lives in Rijiyar Zaki quarters, decried the hike in the gas price occasioned by acute scarcity of the product. “I’ve never witnessed this kind of situation before. People are waiting on the queue for hours to get gas. The price is increasing daily,” said Idris. A dealer, Sani Muhammad, stated that major gas depots had run out of stock of the product, resulting in a scarcity in metropolitan Kano.  “We don’t have LPG now. I can’t say the current price. The last one was sold between N1,350 and N1,450 per kg,” he said.
According to Mr Muhammad, most stations are closed or dispensing in limited quantities, thereby worsening the situation for consumers. Mr Muhammad also attributed the scarcity to the industrial crisis between the tanker drivers’ union and Dangote Refinery. There is significant increase in the use of charcoal for domestic purposes due to the scarcity of cooking gas. The trend led to the proliferation of charcoal sale outlets across the metropolis, occasioned by the high patronage.  NAN)