NNPCL Blames Cooking Gas Scarcity, Price Hike on PENGASSAN Strike
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has attributed the recent scarcity and surge in the price of cooking gas across the country to disruptions caused by the strike action embarked upon by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN).
Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPCL, Bayo Ojulari, explained that the industrial action led to a temporary suspension of loading activities, creating an artificial shortage in supply and a ripple effect on prices.
Ojulari noted that the strike, which lasted several days, allowed some opportunistic retailers to exploit the situation by arbitrarily inflating prices.
He, however, assured Nigerians that normal supply is gradually being restored and that gas prices are expected to ease in the coming weeks as loading operations stabilise.
Across Lagos and other major cities, the price of cooking gas has risen sharply, with residents now paying between ₦2,500 and ₦3,000 per kilogramme. Many filling stations and gas plants have reportedly run out of stock, leaving consumers dependent on street vendors selling at inflated rates.
PENGASSAN had embarked on the industrial action to protest the alleged dismissal of Nigerian workers at the Dangote Refinery, before suspending the strike on October 1, following the intervention of the Federal Government.
