The news says: The continued increase in cooking gas prices is pushing many Nigerians to use charcoal and firewood, reversing years of progress in promoting cleaner and safer cooking energy. Marketers currently pay between N25.2 million and N26.2 million for 20 metric tonnes of LPG, and consumers now pay between N1,500 and N1,700 per kilogram – up from N1,100 just weeks ago.
Who are the people affected by this price hike? Nigerian households (especially low- and middle-income families), food vendors and small businesses, the Nigerian Association of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers (NALPGAM), charcoal and firewood sellers (who are seeing increased sales), women and children (who bear the health and labour burden of traditional cooking), and environmental advocates (concerned about deforestation and air pollution).
Where is this happening? Across Nigeria: Kaduna, Kano, Port Harcourt (Rivers), Yenagoa (Bayelsa), Borno (Maiduguri), Lagos, Gombe, Jos (Plateau), and nationwide.
What is happening? Cooking gas prices have risen sharply – from N1,100 per kg to N1,500-1,700 per kg in some areas. A 12.5kg cylinder now costs between N18,000 and N20,600. Marketers pay N25-26 million for 20 metric tonnes. Consumers are abandoning gas for charcoal (N200-500 per measure, N8,000-9,000 per bag) and firewood (N1,000 per bundle). Some Lagos residents are turning to power stoves (pellets, N300 per kg) or green gel.
Why is this happening? NALPGAM cites: soaring depot prices, supply constraints, logistics challenges, rising operational costs, global factors (Middle East conflict, closure of Strait of Hormuz), and internal supply chain constraints. The association warns that persistent increases could trigger widespread public dissatisfaction.
How are Nigerians coping? A mother in Kaduna uses gas only for morning tea; weekends are for charcoal. A Kano mother switched entirely to charcoal – a bag costs N8,000 and lasts two weeks. A Borno resident bought a charcoal stove for N8,000 and a bag of charcoal for N8,500. A Gombe family now buys less gas and combines it with charcoal. Lagos residents are adopting power stoves (pellets) and green gel.
4 reasons why this price hike affects every Nigerian – not just cooking gas users.
- It reverses years of progress on clean cooking energy and public health. Prof. Dayo Ayoade, energy law expert at UNILAG, warned that traditional fuels cause respiratory diseases, carbon monoxide poisoning, and lung cancer. Women and young girls bear the greatest risk – they stay in the kitchen, breathe the smoke, and spend hours collecting firewood instead of attending school. The shift back to charcoal and firewood is a public health emergency and a blow to the girl-child education campaign.
- It increases deforestation and environmental destruction. Burning charcoal and firewood requires cutting down trees. Nigeria is already losing its forests at an alarming rate. Deforestation destroys habitats, reduces biodiversity, and contributes to climate change. Every family that switches from gas to charcoal adds pressure on Nigeria’s remaining forests. The environmental cost of this price hike will last for decades.
- It creates a new economy of charcoal sellers – but that is not good news. Charcoal sellers in Borno report sales increased by 20 per cent in one week. A Kano charcoal seller now sells twice as fast as before. This is not economic growth. It is a sign of regression. Nigerians are not choosing charcoal because they want to. They are choosing it because they cannot afford gas. An economy built on poverty-driven charcoal sales is not a success.
- It exposes the failure of Nigeria’s energy policy despite being a gas-rich country. Nigeria is one of the largest natural gas reserves holders in Africa. Yet Nigerians cannot afford cooking gas. Prof. Ayoade called it the “energy paradox” – a wealthy country struggling to supply energy resources to its people at reasonable prices. The government has promoted LPG as a cleaner alternative for years. Those gains are now being undone by market forces and policy failures.
How this affects Nigerians and the environment.
i. Households spend more money for less convenience. A Kaduna mother spent N14,000 on gas a month ago; now gas is even more expensive. A Kano mother abandoned gas entirely. Families are spending scarce resources on charcoal and firewood – which are also rising in price. The cost of cooking is eating into budgets for food, school fees, and healthcare.
ii. Women and children bear the heaviest burden. Women cook. Children – especially girls – collect firewood. The smoke from traditional cooking causes respiratory infections, eye problems, and lung diseases. Girls who collect firewood miss school. This price hike is not just an economic issue. It is a gender and education issue.
iii. Deforestation accelerates across the country. Charcoal production requires cutting trees. Firewood collection strips forests. Nigeria’s forest cover is already critically low. Every bag of charcoal sold represents trees that will not grow back quickly. The environmental damage will outlast the price hike – assuming prices ever come down.
iv. Small businesses that rely on gas – food vendors, restaurants, bakeries – face higher costs. They will pass those costs to customers. Prices of cooked food will rise. The poor, who already spend a large portion of their income on food, will be hit hardest. The price of gas affects not just cooking at home, but the entire food economy.
Advice from this analyst.
- To the Federal Government: intervene immediately. This is not a luxury. Cooking gas is a necessity. Options include: temporarily waive import duties on LPG, subsidise gas for low-income households, or fix the supply chain bottlenecks that are driving up prices. Do not let clean energy gains be destroyed by market failures.
- To the Nigerian Association of LPG Marketers: be transparent. Publish the landed cost of LPG, the taxes, and the margins. Nigerians need to know whether this price hike is driven by genuine supply constraints or profiteering. Transparency builds trust. Secrecy breeds anger.
- To state governments: promote alternative clean cooking solutions – like the power stove (pellets) mentioned in Lagos. These are cheaper (N300 per kg, stable for three years) and cleaner than charcoal. Provide subsidies or financing for households to switch to these alternatives. Not everyone can afford gas. But not everyone should have to breathe charcoal smoke.
- To households currently using charcoal and firewood: if you cannot afford gas, ventilate your cooking area. Cook outside if possible. Open windows. Limit children’s exposure to smoke. Also, explore power stoves and green gel if available in your area. Every small reduction in smoke exposure improves health.
Rhetorical question for you.
If Nigeria is sitting on vast natural gas reserves, yet its citizens cannot afford to cook with gas – and are being forced back to charcoal and firewood, which destroy forests and kill with smoke – what does that say about the country’s energy policy?
It says the policy has failed. It says that resource wealth does not translate into citizen welfare. It says that the government has prioritised exports over local consumption, profits over people. And it says that without urgent intervention, the gains of a decade will be lost in a year. Nigerians should not have to choose between eating and breathing clean air. But that is exactly where they are.
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Akahi News reports that cooking gas prices have gone through the roof. A bag of charcoal is now a household’s best friend. A power stove is a luxury alternative. And Nigerians are adapting – not because they want to, but because they have no choice. The government promoted LPG as the fuel of the future. That future is now unaffordable. The result: more smoke, more deforestation, more disease, and more poverty. This is not progress. This is regression. And until the government treats cooking gas as the necessity it is – not as a market commodity to be left to chance – Nigerians will continue to cook with the fuel of the past: charcoal, firewood, and desperation.