LPG Users Decry Increase in Price of the Commodity.
By Murtala Muhammad
Residents of Bauchi state, have expressed worry over what they described as unquantifiable hardships they are going through due to the hike in price of the Liquefied Petroleum Gas, LPG also known as cooking Gas.
They gave the indication while fielding questions from our correspondent who went round the state capital to hear the LPG users’ views with regards to the sharp increase in price of the commodity and the possible ways of arresting it.
LPG was in the last three months being sold at the rate of N367 but is currently sold at N720 per kilogram.
Some of the residents who spoke to Radio Nigeria in Bauchi metropolis, Mudassir Qasim, anonymous respondent and Ibrahim Muhammad expressed displeasure over the persistent increase in price of the commodity and appealed to the authorities concerned to deploy resources in that direction, to cushion the effect on the common man.
For Fatima Mukhtar, Umar Ibrahim Dada and Muhammad Abdullahi said life was becoming tougher by the day, stating that government at the centre should consider the masses especially in setting prices of essential commodities such as cooking gas.
Other respondents Idris Haruna Yusuf and Muhammad Muhammad said in the past they used to fill a six kilogram Cooking gas cylinder at N2,300 but currently is N3,500 and cannot serve the same purpose.
They appealed to the federal government to do the needful with a view to arresting the problem and ameliorate their sufferings.
When contacted, a seller of cooking gas in one of the LPG plants in the metropolis, Mr. Onyeama Emmanuel who said the price increase was a nationwide problem alleged that there was removal of waiver and application of Value Added Tax, VAT on the commodity.
Mr Onyeama expressed optimism that by January next year, the price would decrease depending on the market trends.
Experts viewed the use of cooking gas as an alternative way of protecting the environment from pollution and other hazardous effects, such as burning of fire wood and felling down of trees which can lead to desertification as well as climate change issue.
