Across the length and breadth of Nigeria—from the bustling streets of Lagos to the farmlands of Kaduna, from the crowded kitchens of Port Harcourt to the food stalls of Onitsha—a silent crisis is burning hotter than any flame. The familiar blue flame of cooking gas, once a symbol of urban convenience and cleaner living, is fast becoming a luxury item. As of this week, the price of refilling a 12.5kg cylinder of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) has skyrocketed to a staggering ₦25,000, up from ₦17,500 barely a week earlier. The spike represents one of the sharpest price increases in Nigeria’s energy sector in recent memory, plunging millions of households into anxiety and forcing many to rethink how they cook, eat, and live.
For most Nigerians, this is not just another episode of inflation—it is a full-blown energy crisis with far-reaching economic and social implications. The country, blessed with some of the world’s largest natural gas reserves, now finds itself unable to keep its kitchens burning. The reasons, though complex, can be traced to a mixture of industrial strikes, supply chain disruptions, and market manipulation that have converged to choke supply and drive prices through the roof.
The Crisis Unfolds
The crisis became apparent in late September 2025, when reports began to emerge of gas shortages across major Nigerian cities. In Lagos, Abuja, Enugu, Ibadan, and Kano, long queues formed outside gas depots and filling stations. Many retailers shut down entirely, displaying handwritten “No Gas” signs. In others, attendants whispered prices that seemed almost surreal. A housewife in Ikeja, Lagos, recounted her experience to our correspondent: “Last week, I paid ₦17,000 to refill my 12.5kg cylinder. This week, the same station told me it’s ₦25,000. I thought it was a joke until I went to three other places—same story.”
In Kaduna, small restaurant owners are facing an existential threat. “We can’t operate like this,” said Hadiza Musa, who runs a small eatery near the state secretariat. “If gas is ₦2,000 per kilogram, what will we sell a plate of food for? ₦3,000? Customers won’t buy.” Many street vendors, who form a vital part of Nigeria’s informal economy, have already resorted to charcoal and firewood—a grim regression that not only increases health risks but also undermines the nation’s environmental goals.
The Immediate Cause: PENGASSAN Strike and Supply Disruption
At the heart of the crisis lies a chain reaction triggered by industrial action. According to Mr. Bassey Essien, the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Association of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers (NALPGAM), the strike action by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) disrupted the movement of LPG from key depots and terminals across the country.
“Dangote Petroleum Refinery is currently the highest local supplier of cooking gas in Nigeria,” Essien explained in an interview with Vanguard. “The crisis involving PENGASSAN scuttled distribution. Many dealers could not replenish their stocks during the period. What we are witnessing is a function of demand and supply. In practice, the demand for cooking gas is higher than supply. But supply would likely stabilize in the coming days, following resolution of the conflict.”
The PENGASSAN strike, which began as a protest over working conditions and pay discrepancies, quickly spiraled into a national issue. With refinery operations partially halted and logistics grounded, gas distribution channels across the country froze. By the time the strike was called off, the damage was already done—stocks had depleted, market anxiety had taken hold, and opportunistic dealers were already taking advantage of the panic.
Beyond the Strike: The Larger Structural Problem
While the PENGASSAN strike may have been the spark, it merely exposed deeper cracks in Nigeria’s LPG supply chain. Experts say the real problem lies in over-reliance on a few local suppliers and the near-total collapse of government-regulated pricing mechanisms.
For years, Nigeria has struggled to balance its vast natural gas potential with the realities of poor infrastructure, policy inconsistency, and import dependency. Despite producing over 8 billion cubic feet of gas per day, much of it is flared or exported, while domestic supply remains erratic. The government’s ambition to make LPG the primary cooking fuel for Nigerian households—an initiative launched in 2020—has faced persistent setbacks due to inadequate investment in storage facilities, transport infrastructure, and distribution networks.
“Even before the strike, the signs were there,” said Dr. Aliu Omoniyi, an energy economist based in Abuja. “We were already dealing with fluctuating supply levels, increasing transport costs due to diesel prices, and forex challenges affecting imports. The strike just made a bad situation worse.”
Indeed, the dollar’s rise against the naira has compounded the crisis. Many gas importers source their LPG from international markets priced in U.S. dollars. With the naira now trading at over ₦1,600 to the dollar, the cost of importing gas has become almost prohibitive. In response, some marketers have chosen to hoard their products, anticipating further price increases—a practice that only worsens scarcity.
Market Reactions and the Surge in Prices
The result has been nothing short of economic chaos. In Lagos, retail prices of 1kg of LPG now range between ₦1,500 and ₦2,000, depending on location and seller. This represents an unprecedented rise from ₦1,000 just a month earlier. The traditional 12.5kg cylinder, used by most middle-class households, now costs ₦25,000, up from ₦17,500 barely a week ago.
In Abuja, some stations have stopped selling smaller quantities altogether, insisting on bulk purchases at premium prices. Independent dealers claim they are simply passing on the cost from wholesalers. But investigative visits to several depots in the South-West and South-East regions reveal a more complicated story.
Some dealers admitted that they deliberately held back supplies to exploit the panic. One depot manager in Ogun State, who requested anonymity, confessed: “We know supply will normalize soon, but business is business. People are desperate. If we sell everything now, what happens when demand peaks again and we have no stock?”
Meanwhile, ordinary Nigerians bear the brunt. Families are rationing gas usage, cooking once a day or switching to electric cookers where power is available. For millions in rural and semi-urban areas, however, there are no such options. Firewood and charcoal, long abandoned for cleaner alternatives, are making a grim comeback. Environmentalists warn that this could reverse years of progress in reducing carbon emissions and deforestation.
The Dangote Factor
A major twist in the unfolding crisis involves Dangote Petroleum Refinery, touted as Nigeria’s game-changer in the energy sector. Since commencing partial operations earlier this year, the refinery has been Nigeria’s largest local supplier of LPG. However, even with its massive capacity, the facility cannot singlehandedly meet the nation’s demand, which stands at over 1 million metric tonnes per year.
“Dangote is doing a lot, but there are still logistic bottlenecks,” said Engr. Adewale Adesina, a downstream oil analyst. “Pipelines are limited, road transport is expensive, and marine terminals are congested. Even if production continues smoothly, getting the gas to end-users is a nightmare.”
According to insiders, the refinery has been running below its optimal capacity due to delayed infrastructure linkages and regulatory hurdles. Additionally, the recent strike affected tanker movement in and out of the plant, further compounding the nationwide shortage.
Government Response: Promises and Political Tensions
As public outrage grows, the government has moved to calm nerves. The Minister of State for Petroleum (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, assured Nigerians that supply would normalize soon, citing ongoing discussions with stakeholders to address distribution challenges. “We are working closely with NALPGAM, PENGASSAN, and the Dangote Group to ensure that Nigerians get relief within days,” he said during a press briefing in Abuja.
But such assurances have done little to pacify an already skeptical public. Nigerians have heard similar promises before—during fuel scarcity, power crises, and other economic disruptions. Civil society groups are demanding transparency in the LPG pricing structure, accusing government officials of turning a blind eye to profiteering by major distributors.
The Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) has also weighed in, calling on the federal government to intervene decisively. “We cannot continue like this,” the NLC’s spokesperson said. “Cooking gas is not a luxury; it is a necessity. The government must ensure that local production and distribution are properly regulated to prevent exploitation.”
The Economic Ripple Effect
The implications of this crisis go far beyond household kitchens. The surge in LPG prices is already driving inflation in the food sector. Restaurants, bakeries, and catering services—all heavily reliant on gas—are increasing prices or shutting down temporarily. Small-scale food producers, who form the backbone of Nigeria’s informal economy, are feeling the pinch most acutely.
In Enugu, a bakery owner lamented that the cost of baking bread has doubled in just two weeks. “We used to buy gas at ₦900 per kg. Now it’s ₦1,800. We can’t sell bread at the same price. But when we increase, customers complain. We’re caught in the middle,” he said.
Energy experts warn that unless the situation stabilizes soon, Nigeria could face a cascading crisis—rising food prices, unemployment in the catering sector, and increased environmental degradation from renewed use of firewood.
What Lies Ahead
Despite the chaos, there is cautious optimism that the crisis will ease in the coming weeks. With the PENGASSAN strike resolved and tankers resuming distribution, supply is expected to stabilize gradually. However, this may not immediately translate into lower prices, as market dynamics and profiteering tendencies persist.
Experts argue that long-term solutions lie in expanding domestic production capacity, investing in gas infrastructure, and implementing price regulation mechanisms to prevent market abuse. “We can’t keep running to international suppliers for what we already produce locally,” said Dr. Omoniyi. “Until we fix the logistics and policy inconsistencies, we will keep facing these cycles of scarcity and price shocks.”
Meanwhile, Nigerians continue to endure the pressure. Social media is flooded with complaints, memes, and videos of people jokingly weighing the cost of gas against that of gold. In truth, it’s no laughing matter. For millions of low-income earners, a basic household necessity has turned into an unaffordable luxury.
As dusk falls over Nigerian cities, the smell of wood smoke lingers once again in the air—an unmistakable sign of a nation slipping backward in its quest for cleaner, modern energy. The blue flame that once symbolized progress is flickering, dimmed by strikes, greed, and policy failure. Whether it will burn brightly again depends not just on temporary fixes, but on whether Nigeria finally learns to manage the abundant resources beneath its soil.
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