Nigeria has the largest natural gas reserves in Africa, but cooking gas, technically called Liquefied Petroleum Gas, remains a luxury for millions of people in the country.
The country is so rich in gas that some industry stakeholders have likened it to an island of oil sitting on an ocean of gas.
The total gas reserves in the country rose to 206.53 trillion cubic feet as of January 2021 from 203.16tcf a year earlier, according to the Department of Petroleum Resources.
Home to the ninth-biggest gas reserves in the world, Nigeria was the eight-largest exporter of natural gas globally last year, according to Statista.
But today, at least 50 per cent of the cooking gas consumed in the country is IMPORTED, and the price of the fuel has skyrocketed to its highest level on record.
In recent years, many households have had to embrace the use of cooking gas largely because of increased awareness of its benefits and the scarcity of kerosene, a dirty cooking fuel that is harmful to human health.
But the months-long steady increase in the price of cooking gas is now putting the essential commodity beyond the reach of many households.
The price has more than doubled in the past one year, from about N3,200 for refilling a 12.5kg cylinder in September last year to N6,500-N7,000 now.
With the naira plunging to fresh all-time lows in recent days, there appears to be no end in in sight to the increase in cooking gas prices.
The naira sank to 570 against the dollar today at the parallel market from 562/$1 on Wednesday and 528/$1 at the start of this month.
If LPG importers have to source forex at the black market, it means the further depreciation of the naira against the dollar will push up the cost of importing the product into the country, and retail prices will rise further.
Something needs to be done urgently to tackle the shortage of cooking gas supply and the price hike so as to reduce the plight of many Nigerians.
Femi Asu