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The latest surge in the price of cooking gas has once again deepened the hardship facing many Nigerians across the country.

From insecurity to soaring petrol prices, inadequate infrastructure reflected in poor electricity supply, bad roads, weak healthcare facilities, expensive education and rising food costs, Nigerians continue to lament worsening living conditions nationwide.

Now, the cost of Liquefied Natural Gas, LNG, popularly known as cooking gas, which has remained expensive and beyond the reach of many citizens for years, has increased further, worsening the burden on households.

Over the weekend, the price of cooking gas per kilogram reportedly rose from N1,200 to between N1,400 and N1,500 in several locations, pushing the cost of refilling a 12.5kg cylinder from N14,200 to about N17,500.

A visit to several gas stations around Amuwo Odofin in Lagos on May 25 revealed groups of frustrated residents lamenting their economic situation while expressing feelings of helplessness and despair.

Many residents gathered in clusters discussing the worsening state of the country, particularly within the last three years since the removal of fuel subsidy by the current administration.

Over the last two years, the price of refilling a 12.5kg cylinder has steadily climbed from about N9,000 to N10,000, N11,000, N12,500, later N14,200 and now approximately N17,500 as of May 25.

The latest increase reportedly left many residents confused, as several people who visited gas stations to refill their cylinders could no longer afford the expected quantity.

Some residents who arrived with 12.5kg cylinders reportedly ended up purchasing only 8kg or 9kg because they were unprepared for the sudden increase.

Others who came to refill 4kg cylinders reportedly settled for only 2kg, while several people abandoned the purchase entirely and considered returning to the use of charcoal temporarily.

A conversation between ZINGTIE and some residents at the stations suggested growing fears that the development could create more serious challenges if urgent intervention is not taken by the government.

One customer at a gas station located on Festac First Avenue by First Gate, identified as John Chukwuebuka, warned that the sharp increase could create further environmental and social problems across the country.

He argued that once many Nigerians can no longer afford cooking gas, they would likely resort to firewood, leading to increased deforestation and exposing the environment to erosion and other ecological disasters previously prevented by tree cover.

He further stated that wildlife would also be endangered as forests serving as natural habitats for animals could be destroyed through excessive logging for firewood.

According to him, a return to widespread charcoal use for cooking could equally worsen environmental degradation.

Another resident, who identified herself simply as Morenike, questioned how Nigerians allowed the All Progressives Congress, APC, to allegedly ruin the country.

She said: “This All Progressives Congress, APC, government is evil in every facet. Since 2015 when the APC government took over power, Nigerians have not known peace.

“Nigerians have been suffering since 2015, but the suffering became worse with this current Bola Tinubu government. Where do I even start?

“Is it the number of lives that are lost to bandits, terrorists and kidnappers on a daily basis? Is it the price of food? And now, ordinary cooking gas, we can’t afford it again and Nigeria is naturally endowed with crude oil? How can anybody explain this?

“And these people are busy campaigning to be reelected in 2027. When people are needlessly being slaughtered like animals and they do nothing?

“The other day, a teacher who was kidnapped in Oyo State was beheaded by his abductors who posted the gory picture on the internet for everybody to see, yet the government has not been able to fish out these evil men.

“The painful aspect of the whole thing is that they are not even doing anything about it, instead they are busy with how to win the 2027 elections.

“And now, we woke up this morning to see this kind of wicked increase in the price of cooking gas. What do they want us to do? I don’t even understand Nigerians. How can we allow one party to be inflicting this kind of pain on us and we all keep quiet? This is surprising and I just pray that Nigerians will wake up from their long slumber and take their destiny in their own hands,” she submitted.

Several other residents subtly appealed to the government to urgently intervene and avoid pushing citizens beyond their limits.

However, many Nigerians still blamed the development on the removal of fuel subsidy, which they said triggered the rise in the prices of nearly all goods and services, including cooking gas.

According to them, the price of cooking gas would not have risen sharply if fuel subsidy had remained in place.

Reacting to the latest increase, public affairs analyst Rowland Adenuga described the development as unfortunate for ordinary Nigerians who largely depend on cooking gas for survival.

He lamented that cooking gas, which many Nigerians viewed as a relief following fuel subsidy removal, was gradually becoming unaffordable for the average citizen.

“Instead of maintaining and stabilizing the price of cooking gas, which Nigerians have seen as a solace to the fuel subsidy removal, the government has allowed its price to skyrocket to a point where ordinary Nigerians are crying blue murder; it is unfortunate,” he said.

He urged the Federal Government to focus more on the suffering of ordinary citizens rather than concentrating on the 2027 elections.

“The way our politicians are going about the 2027 election is very annoying. How can they abandon everything about governance because of the 2027 election?

“In the midst of economic hardship and high insecurity in the land, why would this government allow the price of cooking gas to go higher again?

“Any way, it is clear that they are not interested in people’s votes, if not they won’t allow something like this to happen. This government has failed in all aspects. And I hope Nigerians will respond appropriately in 2027.

“The only way for Nigerians to demonstrate that they have been pushed to the wall is to vote out this government and ensure that their votes are protected,” he said.

He also warned that unless urgent measures are taken to reduce the price of cooking gas, more Nigerians would return to using firewood and charcoal, further endangering forests and the environment.

He said: “Cooking gas prices should have been very low. In fact, if there is to be a subsidy, it should be on cooking gas, so that it will solve the problem of deforestation.

“Just move around the country and look at the volume of firewood and charcoal that are being sold. It is unnecessary. We are killing and destroying our forest because the cost of cooking gas is too high.

“Nigeria should actually subsidise the cooking gas. Let the price be as low as possible so that people will stop hacking our trees, creating deforestation and generating desertification, and killing a lot of things, including the fauna. It is not just the plant but even the animals are also endangered when the forests are attacked.

“That will also mean that we will be losing our forests more and more; leading to deforestation. This will, invariably, affect the whole ecosystem.

“The wild animals will find no place to rest, desertification will increase, and so many other backlashes will come to play. And of course, when the hardship becomes so unbearable for the people having been pushed to the wall, they will fight back.

“So, it is in the interest of the government to make the price of cooking gas cheap, so that people would not want to resort to buying firewood or buying wood for charcoal.”

Meanwhile, education rights activist James Hamilton attributed the latest increase largely to inflation.

“Inflation is affecting the price of everything in Nigeria, including cooking gas.

“Once there is inflation as we have today, you expect that the price of everything will go up.

“So, it is not only the price of cooking gas that has gone up; it is a general problem because so many other things are not normal. It is a trying period and all hands must be on deck to address the problem.

“Thank God the election is around the corner. The time for lamentation should be over by now. It is clear that this government cannot do anything to better the lives of Nigerians. Nigerians should get their PVCs and be ready to vote out this APC government in 2027.

“That is the only way to have a respite in this country, otherwise things will keep getting worse.

“You can’t give what you don’t have; that is exactly what is happening with this government. Otherwise, how can any sane government allow the price of cooking gas to even add a penny to the existing price that people are still struggling to pay?

“If anything, Nigerians were expecting a serious reduction in the existing price because many people were still struggling to meet up. But instead of that, what we woke up to see this Monday morning is more than 30 percent increase again. This is unbelievable, I must say,” he stated.

Hamilton lamented that ordinary Nigerians continue to bear the brunt of economic hardship and warned that authorities must avoid provoking public anger by responding urgently to the situation.

“The government must look at this latest rise urgently because the moment an average man cannot cook in his house, not because the price of raw food is high but also because even cooking gas is a problem, then, you are likely to have the people revolt along the line.

“So, the government must look inward, come up with policies that will review the problem and address it as soon as possible. And this must be considered as a short-term solution because people cannot contain it.

“People cannot continue managing it the way it is going. So, the government must come up with something better as soon as possible,” he said.

However, Professor Anthony Ugwu of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra State, argued that the increase in cooking gas prices may not be entirely linked to inflation as some observers suggested.

According to him, although LPG is produced locally, production levels remain insufficient for Nigeria’s large population.

He also noted that many Nigerians now use cooking gas to power generators following the removal of fuel subsidy.

He said: “The fact that the cost of cooking gas is rising and is almost hitting the roof top should not be a surprise to Nigerians. This is because most Nigerians no longer use it to cook only; they now use it as an alternative to fuel to operate generators following the government’s removal of fuel subsidy. So, that is a contributory factor to the continuous rise in its price,” he said.

He equally warned that the continued increase would push more Nigerians back to traditional cooking methods involving firewood and charcoal.

“And that is what people are doing currently. If you check, it is already affecting the prices of firewood and charcoal and that will also be disastrous.

“So, the government just has to do something very urgent to arrest this latest increase, at least, to soften the people’s heart against the 2027 election.

“If the government doesn’t respond urgently to this latest development, two possibilities are likely to happen. It is either the people express their frustration through the ballot in 2027 or they take to the street even before the election.

“The latter may not be palatable because it could lead to full blown revolution considering the tension in the country today. So, the government should just find out what caused the latest increase and address it urgently,” he cautioned.

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