Consumers hurt by soaring prices of gas, kerosene

Consumers are hard hit by rising prices of Liquefied Petroleum Gas and kerosene at depots across the country in the last one month, BusinessDay checks across the country, spanning from Lagos, Port Harcourt and Abuja show.

The consumers, affected by low purchasing power and rising inflation that has brought about soaring prices of goods and services are currently exploring alternatives in coal and firewood despite the accompanying health hazards.

The implication is that, the high demand for coal will bring about deforestation as this could lead to felling of trees for firewood, which are used to produce coal and this is also against the green zone forestation.

BusinessDay checks around Lagos, Port Harcourt, Abuja and other states revealed that the price of liquefied petroleum gas popularly referred to as cooking gas has risen between 28 to 45 percent in the last one month due to scarcity.

In Lagos metropolis, 50kg cooking gas rose by 25percent to sell for N20,000 from N16,000 , 25kg gas now sells for between N9,000 and N1000 against between N6,500 and N7,000 while the price range to refill a 12.5 kg cooking gas shot up to between N4,500 and N5,300 instead of between N3,200 and N3,500, a month ago.

Also, 6kg gas rose to sell for between N2, 500 from between N 1,800 and N2, 000, 5kg gas now N2,000 against N1,500 while the 4.5kg camp gas which sold for between N800 and N1000 now sells for N1, 200.

“When the price of gas was around N3, 000, I had more customers but the number of people coming to refill their gas cylinders has reduced because of the price increase,” Agu Ogbuji, a gas retailer in Lagos told BusinessDay.

Jide Akinyele, a user of cooking gas in Lagos said, “The last time I bought gas which was two months ago, I bought 12.5kg for N3,500 but few days ago, I bought the same size of gas around a filling station in Mile 12 that dispenses gas for N4,500. How do government expect us to cope with this situation? Some of us have not received salaries in months and prices are going up”

The story is the same in Port Harcourt and Abuja as consumers who spoke with BusinessDay say feeding is becoming a huge challenge.

Prisca Amadi, another user of cooking gas in Port Harcourt said, “I filled my 12.5kg gas cylinder for N3, 500 in Santiago gas station last month. I was shocked when I went back to the gas station and was told it is now N4, 500. I usually alternate with Kerosene but now, the price of kerosene has gone up as well so I had to move to coal which is way cheaper”

A litre of kerosene that sold for N250 is now between N400 and N500 at filling stations while the same litre goes for as much as between N400 and N450 at other retail outlets. The big Eva bottle of kerosene now sells for between N600 and N700 against between N280 to N300 a month ago.

BusinessDay findings further showed that some consumers now use firewood, coal or sawdust as alternative means of cooking.

“Everyone cannot afford to buy gas or kerosene this period because they are quite expensive. I use coal sometimes for cooking in addition to kerosene. With N300 coal, I only need little kerosene and it can serve me fine. I know some people that use firewood or even sawdust now to cook just to manage the small cash at their disposal,” Nnenna Njoku, a resident in Abuja said.

‘‘Feeding has become very difficult. Before now, I buy a bottle of kerosene for N230 and it would last for one week but now, that same bottle is sold for N500. I had to start using sawdust because it is cheaper,’’ said Yinka Adebiyi, a resident in Lagos said.

But some environmentalists see the development as anti-development and dangerous to human existence as some of the tress provides freshness and oxygen for peaceful human existence on this earth.

“This is a very costly mistake because the impact on the environment is totally horrendous and negative. Why it is so bad is that there is no need to move to coal, firewood or even kerosene for that matter.

“Nigeria is the 8th largest producer of gas in the whole world and it is terrible we are not using our gas domestically. One of the worst problems is that it can lead to deforestation and we cannot afford to deforest anymore, said Desmond Majekodunmi, an environmentalist.

According to Doyin Odubanjo, Public health expert, cooking with coal or firewood is hazardous to health as it exposes consumers to a myriad of diseases and that is beside the inconvenience associated with this method of cooking.

“The resultant air pollution can also lead to damage of the airways. Apart from exacerbating existing conditions that people might have in terms of airways diseases like asthma, it could actually predispose towards other conditions like pneumonia and in fact it’s a proven factor in pneumonia incidence in children.

“There have been efforts over the years to guide households away from such sources of energy. It increases child mortality when you have such pollutions in the house. So it’s dangerous for the health and primarily for the airways. It can predispose to diseases of the respiratory system,” Odubanjo said.

However some analysts have called on government to live up to its responsibility by ensuring that the petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) is passed into law so as to encourage refining of the products.

According to them, it is when these products are refined that the by-products such as kerosene can be made available for local consumption.

“Government should move further and quickly too in its current efforts at deregulating the downstream sector as other by-products too could be used to feed our steel companies,” says Friday Ameh, energy analyst.

According to Ameh the current situation of importing kerosene and even refined products shows lack of commitment to the development of the sector in particular and economy in general.

CHINWE AGBEZE