The recent spike in prices of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) used for domestic uses, including cooking, is because of the global rise in the price of the commodity, the Federal Government explained on Tuesday.
Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, stated this in a chat with State House Correspondents after a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
The Minister, who said he was at the Villa to introduce CEO, Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, (NMDPRA), Engr. Faruk Ahmed, and the CEO, Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Engr. Gbenga Komolafe, to the President, also said Buhari had expressed concern over the development.
Sylva, who further explained that the high price of the commodity had been as a result of the fact that it is determined by the global market, noted that the Federal Government is not be able to control the sales prices because it is not subsidised.
The Minister disclosed that he had also been directed the President to proceed to Nembe, Bayelsa State, to investigate the level of damage by the recent oil spillage in the area.
Fielding question on what was responsible for the spike in the prices of cooking gas, Sylva said government was doing everything possible to bring down the price especially during the yuletide.
“We must understand that cooking gas is not subsidized. It is already a deregulated commodity. So the price of cooking gas is not determined by government or by everybody in the industry. In fact, gas prices are determined internationally.
“And you all are aware that in Europe, today, gas prices have gone up, there was even crisis in Europe relating to gas prices. So the pricing of gas internationally now affects also the price of gas in the country.
