ENVIRONMENTAL EXPERT RAISES ALARM OVER SPIRALLING RISE OF COOKING GAS.... Says New Increases Outrageous, Considering The Current Situation In The Country.

"The initial objective of domestic availability and preservation of our forest will be defeated if cooking gas goes out of the reach of ordinary Nigerians due to the current increment in prices of the commodity".... Onuesoke. 

Despite the abundant LPG reserves and gigantic production plans, a very concerned stakeholder and resident of the oil rich city of Warri, in Delta state has expressed his dismay over why a country so richly blessed in gas can be so plagued by two evils of skyrocketing prices.

Notable environmental expert and chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party PDP, Chief Sunny Onuesoke, has raised this pertinent question and alarm over the incessant increase in the price of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) known as cooking gas across the country at the detriment of the already downtrodden populace.

Chief Onuesoke, a former gubernatorial aspirant under the platform of the PDP,  lamented that the price of refilling the 12.5kg cooking gas cylinder which had been between N3,200 and N3,500 for a very long time suddenly jumped to N6,500 while that of 50kg now goes for N26,000. 

He added that the camping gas cylinder which was N1,500 now sell for N2,500.

Addressing journalists in his office in Warri, Delta State, the party chieftain argued that the recent increase of price of the product was outrageous, considering the current situation in the country.

"The initial objective of domestic availability and preservation of our forest will be defeated if cooking gas goes out of the reach of ordinary Nigerians due to the current increment in prices of the commodity", he counselled.

Onuesoke, who is very disturbed by the situation, noted that, "according to a report by the NLNG, Nigeria is blessed with abundant reserves of both associated and non-associated gas, estimated to be in excess of 202 trillion standard cubic feet. The World Factbook, a reference resource produced by the Central Intelligence Agency, stated that Nigeria ranks ninth in terms of proven natural gas reserves in the world after Algeria. It was estimated that the reserve would last for over 100 years".

“However, despite having the capacity to produce such quantum of LPG, it allocates only 350,000 metric tonnes to the Nigerian domestic market that requires about 1.2 million annually, while the rest is exported. One wonders why the NLNG cannot fully supply the domestic market with the volume it requires”, Onuesoke argued.

He recounted that while some end users, especially housewives and low-income earners, are left with no choice but to gradually adapt to the situation by squeezing out as much, most rural dwellers and those in the hinterland that rely on the product for business have been forced to abandon their gas cylinders for firewood, charcoal and sawdust in spite of the inconveniences and health hazards associated with their use.

Quoting World Health Organisation, WHO, Onuesoke said household air pollution causes non-communicable diseases that include stroke, ischemic heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and lung cancer, adding that close to half of deaths due to pneumonia among children under five years of age are caused by particulate matter (soot) inhaled from household air pollution.

According to him, “Based on a 2013 World Health Organisation report, 98,000 Nigerian women die each year from the use of firewood, with thousands more at risk of serious health problems. With the recent 70 percent increase of prices of cooking gas that means the population of death from use of firewood would increase astronomically.

Onuesoke called for the full domestication of LPG, noting, “What this means is that the NLNG should give the domestic market the required 1.2 million metric tonnes and export the rest as it produces 22 million tonnes, instead of exporting the same, only for the country to import it back.