THE last two weeks of May brought fresh misery to millions of Nigerian households as the price of cooking gas soared to alarming levels. The surge coincided with preparations for Eid al-Kabir, compounding the hardship of citizens already grappling with a crushing cost-of-living crisis.
Earlier this year, cooking gas sold for about N1,050 per kilogramme. Today, the price ranges between N2,000 and N2,200 per kilogramme, depending on location.
This means that refilling a standard 12.5kg cylinder now costs more than N25,000. Such a situation is indefensible in a country where the minimum wage is N70,000 per month, and millions earn far less.
At 210.54 trillion cubic feet, Nigeria is ranked ninth by gas reserves in the world, says the Policy Center for the New South, based in Morocco.
A country so richly endowed with gas resources should not remain dependent on imports for half of its cooking gas needs.
Data
This post was originally published on this site.
