By Progress Godfrey
As Nigerians count down to the start of the yuletide, citizens across the country are feeling the pinch with complaints about the high cost of living.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics, Nigeria’s inflation rose to 21.47 percent in November from 21.09 percent recorded in October, representing the 10th consecutively monthly increase since the start of the year.
Analysts have drawn attention to the fact that Nigeria’s inflation rate has now risen to its highest level since September 2005 when the rate stood at 24.32 percent. The Explainer gathered that the price of basic commodities such as Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), better known as cooking gas has persistently stayed high in recent weeks.
The Explainer learnt the situation is deepening the suffering and hardship already being felt by Nigerians. Close observation of the situation indicates that the current spike in the price of cooking gas is one of the highest to be witnessed in Nigeria. The cost of refilling a cooking gas cylinder in the past one year has shot up by nearly 100 percent. Statistics show that the price for refilling a 5kg and 12kg cylinder rose by nearly 100 per cent from September 2021 to November 2022.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics, the average retail price for refilling a 5kg Cylinder of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (Cooking Gas), increased by 0.40% on a month-on-month basis from N4,456.56 recorded in August 2022 to N4,474.48 in September 2022. On a year-on-year basis, this rose by 86.62% from N2,397.60 in September 2021.
Also, the average retail price for refilling a 12.5kg Cylinder of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (Cooking Gas) increased by 0.07% on a month-on-month basis from N9,899.34 in August 2022 to N9,906.44 in September 2022. On a year-on-year basis, this rose by 60.69% from N6,164.97 in September 2021,” the NBS, stated in its Price Watch for September 2022.
Situation in States
The NBS further said, “On state profile analysis, Kwara recorded the highest average price for refilling a 5kg Cylinder of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (Cooking Gas) with N4,950.00, followed by Niger with N4,941.67, and Adamawa with N4,928.29. On state profile analysis, Cross River recorded the highest average retail price for the refilling of a 12.5kg Cylinder of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (Cooking Gas) with N10,937.50, followed by Kogi with N10,760.00 and Oyo with N10,723.75.
Known for their ability to adapt in the face of hardships, some Nigerians have resorted to a variety of measures in the face of the inflationary pressures.
In a chat with The Explainer, Ayomide Jegede, a student of Kwara State University said: “On the student side of it, most of us are not knowledgeable about other sources of energy for cooking, so it is causing increase in hunger, poverty and frustration.
“It (the rise in gas price) is causing stress because I started using coal pot as a substitute. Meanwhile, the smoke inhaled from coal pot fire is hazardous to the health of the user. Sometimes to manage the gas we eat meals not and this can cause indigestion in the body. It’s depressing too.” The student of the Faculty of Communication and Information Science went on to explain that the alternative source of energy is firewood but the smoke from its usage is bad for the lungs.
People With Disabilities Suffer Even More
Agbo Chris, an indigene of Enugu State and member of the PWDs community lamented the price of commodities, adding that with the limitations that PWDs face in access to economic opportunities, they suffer more.
“When things go up in the market, it affects Persons With Disabilities the more because we have limitations in our opportunities economically, so when things go up in the market, we bear the brunt more because of the challenges we’ve been facing,” he said. He charged the next government, which would emerge in 2023 to consider developing programmes that will mitigate the challenges faced by PWDs.
“It is not an easy thing, that is why we are looking forward to the government to begin to fix these things. Even the government that will be coming, please they should understand that when things go up in the market, persons with disabilities suffer it more, and they can begin to develop programmes that will address the economic challenges of persons with disabilities because poverty dwells more with persons with disabilities.”
Another person with disability, Hon Aduke Emmanuel from Ankpa in Kogi State said, “Life has not even been easy for persons that are able, let alone persons with disability. So the high cost of cooking gas is affecting persons with disabilities because you know that some of us cannot struggle to go and do labour work to survive. Meanwhile, other food items keep on increasing every day.
“At least a percentage should be reduced for persons with disabilities so that we can have access to food and some other things.” Emmanuel pleaded with the Nigerian government and Nigerians who are passionate about persons with disabilities to come to their aid, especially with cooking gas.
It will be recalled that in 2020, as part of its efforts at stimulating finance to critical sectors of the economy, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) introduced the N250 billion intervention known as the National Gas Expansion Programme (NGEP). NGEP sought to provide a policy framework to broaden the gas supply and utilization in power generation, gas-based industries and developing gas sectors. One anticipated outcome was to boost gas in transportation, Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) for cooking, and remote virtual gas supply using trucks to convey LNG and Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) to industries. Despite schemes to improve domestic gas supply, Nigeria has not been able to accomplish its plan, this is evident in the hiked price.
Among other initiatives is the Ajaokuta-Abuja-Kano gas pipeline to support five billion cubic feet per day of domestic gas utilisation in the near term and five-Gigawatt power generation.
In an interview with The Explainer, a plantain seller in Abuja who identified herself as Ruth Nwankwo said government is insensitive to the sufferings of the governed because it is not at the receiving end. She lamented, “The previous government was better If one could turn back the hands of time because the way the price of things is increasing, even in the market, it doesn’t affect them, it is we the poor masses that suffer it, we feel it the most.”
The mother of three said she spends a whopping N5000 weekly on kerosene as an alternative to cooking gas. “Now mudu[sic] of foreign rice is N1300, this is no rumour, I bought it with my money. What will a family of 5, 8 or 10 do? As of yesterday we heard that the price of refilling a cooking gas cylinder will likely go up, if the price goes up, what will a poor man use in cooking?
“Even the cooking gas, when you refill, the way it finishes nowadays, one will question the quality of the gas, whether it has been mixed. I cannot use 5kg of gas in a month. Before the month runs out, I’m looking for how to refill another one. That is why I’m managing kerosene. Kerosene is so costly one cannot even afford because it is now N860 per litre. In a week, I spend N5000 on kerosene that is not food, how much more food? A bag of charcoal mow is N5500, where are we going?” she queried.
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