By Deborah Nnamdi
The Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Bayo Ojulari, has attributed the recent scarcity and price hike of cooking gas across the country to the strike action embarked upon by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN).
Ojulari, who spoke to State House correspondents on Sunday after meeting with President Bola Tinubu, said the industrial action disrupted gas loading and movement for several days, leading to what he described as an “artificial increase” in prices.
In Lagos, the price of cooking gas has risen sharply to between ₦2,500 and ₦3,000 per kilogram, with many gas plants and filling stations running out of stock. Only a few street vendors are reportedly selling at inflated rates.
“The increase you saw was relatively artificial because, for the period of the strike, movements and loading were delayed by about two, three days,” Ojulari explained. “And because of that, you see that impact. As things return to normal, it takes some time for distribution to be fully restored.”
He also criticised some retailers for taking advantage of the temporary shortfall to exploit consumers, assuring that prices would stabilise as supply chains recover.
“As you know, in Nigeria, people take the opportunity. With that delay, some of the people who had existing resources and reserves had to put up the price. I expect that now that things are back to normal, prices should return to what they were before the strike,” the NNPCL boss stated.
The PENGASSAN strike, which was sparked by the dismissal of Nigerian workers at the Dangote Refinery, was suspended on October 1 following the intervention of the Federal Government.
