By Ayomide Otitoju
The Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Bayo Ojulari, has attributed the recent scarcity and price surge in cooking gas across Nigeria to temporary disruptions caused by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) strike.
Speaking to State House correspondents on Sunday after a meeting with President Bola Tinubu, Ojulari explained that the industrial action had halted loading and distribution for several days, leading to what he described as an “artificial” spike in prices.
“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 said. “As things return back to normal, it takes some time for distribution to be fully restored.”
He also accused some retailers of exploiting the shortfall to arbitrarily hike prices.
“As you know, in Nigeria, people take opportunity. With that delay, some of those who had existing reserves increased their prices. My expectation is that now that things are back to normal, prices should return to what they were before the strike,” he added.
Cooking gas prices have soared nationwide, with residents in Lagos now paying between ₦2,500 and ₦3,000 per kilogramme as supplies dwindle across major cities. Many filling stations and gas plants have reportedly run out of stock, leaving street vendors as the main sellers at inflated rates.
PENGASSAN had embarked on a nationwide strike over the dismissal of Nigerian workers by the Dangote Refinery but suspended the action on October 1 following the Federal Government’s intervention.
