The Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), Mr. Bayo Ojulari, has explained the reasons behind the recent increase in cooking gas prices across the country.
In an interview with State House correspondents, Ojulari attributed the price hike to the temporary disruption in operations caused by last week’s strike by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN). The industrial action halted loading and distribution activities for several days, leading to an artificial increase in prices.
“The rise you observed was largely artificial because, during the strike, loading and transportation were delayed by about two to three days. This delay impacted supply, and as things return to normal, it will take some time for distribution to fully recover,” he explained.
Ojulari also pointed out that some retailers exploited the temporary supply shortage by raising cooking gas prices.
“In Nigeria, some people take advantage of such situations. Those with existing stocks used the opportunity to hike prices,” he noted.
He reassured Nigerians that as supply chains stabilize, cooking gas prices are expected to decrease in the coming weeks.
“My expectation is that now that operations have resumed, prices should return to their levels before the strike,” he said.
The cooking gas price increase followed the PENGASSAN strike, which was sparked by the dismissal of Nigerian workers at the Dangote Refinery.
