Abuja, Nov. 27, 2023 -The Federal Government has set up a committee to look for ways to boost domestic gas supplies and reduce the prices within a week.
Prices of domestic gas now range from N700 per kg to between N1,00 and N1,110, depending on the location.
Ekperikpe Ekpo, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), set up the committee after a stakeholders’ meeting to resolve the scarcity of gas across the country.
Louis Ibah, the Spokesman for the minister, said in a statement that the stakeholders included top officials of Chevron Nigeria Limited led by Sansay Narasimi; Nigerian Midstream Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority led by its Chief Executive Officer, Farouk Ahmed, and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited.
At the meeting, the minister expressed the concerns of President Bola Tinubu over the astronomical increase in the price of cooking gas and the attendant hardship on the majority of citizens
He decried current situation where some of the multinational firms were more concerned with gas exports without dedicating huge volumes to the domestic market was unacceptable and should be discouraged.
“With the exponential increase in the price of LPG, there is the need for the Federal Government to intervene and I am representing this at this moment.
“We acknowledge that some producers are exporting while we are faced with the challenges of importation.
“Public interest is the overriding interest all over the world for the government, and the demand for LPG will increase as we approach December…you have a public service obligation to collaborate with the government to ensure the security of gas supply, we need to therefore bend backwards and find solutions, to ensure that we have sufficient supply and stability in-country and that Nigerians have gas,” he said. (GBN)
