By : THEANALYSTMEDIA
Recent reports indicate that marketers in the cooking gas (LPG) sector are protesting Aliko Ɗangote’s plans to significantly reduce the price of cooking gas in Nigeria.
Marketers Dangote2
President of Ɗangote Group, Aliko Ɗangote, has unveiled plans to slash the price of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), popularly known as cooking gas, with a threat to bypass distributors and sell directly to consumers if resistance persists.
The announcement, made during a recent tour of the Ɗangote Refinery by a delegation from Lagos Business School’s CGEO Africa and other local and international guests, has sparked backlash from operators in the LPG sector, who accuse Ɗangote of attempting to dominate and monopolise the market.
The marketers, who protested the move on Monday, raised concerns that the billionaire’s entry into the domestic LPG market could edge out existing players and distort fair competition.
Ɗangote, however, maintained that the current price of cooking gas remains unaffordable for ordinary Nigerians, many of whom are still forced to rely on firewood and kerosene for daily cooking needs.
He told his guests at the refinery in Lekki: “The one that we didn’t write, which you must have seen, is LPG. Currently, we do LPG of about 2,000 tonnes per day. Nigeria is gradually moving to the use of LPG, but I believe it is still expensive. Right now, we’re trying to bring down the price and make it cheaper”.
He added that the refinery is currently producing 22,000 tonnes of LPG daily and is preparing to increase supply to the domestic market to meet rising demand.
Ɗangote warned that if current distributors continue to resist lowering the price for end-users, his company may begin direct sales to consumers to make the product more accessible. “If the distributors are not trying to bring it down, we’ll go directly and sell to the consumers, so that people will now transition from firewood or kerosene to LPG for cooking” he stated.
The move, if implemented, could significantly impact the LPG market in Nigeria and alter the dynamics of gas distribution in the country.
