“If there is decrease in those purchasing cooking gas, it cannot be because there is decrease in people eating food”
Nigerians have decried the hike in cooking gas and have urged the Federal Government to check the frequent hike in price of cooking gas in the country.
African Examiner reports that in Lagos , Abuja , Ibadan Kaduna, Kano, Sokoto, Zamfara, Katsina and Kebbi state, are lamenting that the increase had almost become a ‘daily affair’, hence the need for the pegging of price that was done in the case of Premium Motor Spirit (petrol).
They observed that unless something was done, efforts of government in other fronts, like the fight against desertification, would be derailed, adding that people were now resorting to alternative sources like firewood and charcoal.
According to them, as people rely solely on firewood and charcoal, their market will boost, thereby encouraging the felling of trees and encroachment of desert.
Marketers of cooking gas noted that already, there was drastic reduction in sales of their wares, an indication that some of their customers had switched to other alternatives.
“Certainly, people must eat, and if so, they must cook using a source of energy.
“If there is decrease in those purchasing cooking gas, it cannot be because there is decrease in people eating food.
“The only plausible explanation will be that people have switched to other alternatives (firewood and charcoal) , a development that is not environment-friendly,” said Usman Aliyu, a cooking gas trader in Kaduna.
Malam Bala Abubakar, Manager of a Gas Plant in Katsina, said an increase in price of cooking gas in the state, from the N366 per kilogramme some months ago, to its current charge of N533, had resulted in reduced patronage.
He therefore said there was the need for the Federal Government to intervene.
“Re-filling my 3kg cylinder last year was N1,500, then it shot up to N1,700 towards the end of the year, and just last month, it rose to N2,500.
“Now, this month (October) when I went back to re-fill my cylinder, I was told it had risen to N3,600.
“It is high time our government takes urgent steps over this development to help the people,” he appealed.
Similarly, some residents of Kano metropolis have appealed to the Federal Government to introduce price control mechanism on cooking gas, to ease their sufferings.
SOURCE: afticanexaminer.com