Cooking gas prices still high across Nigeria despite depot price drop, marketers say

Retail cooking gas prices across Nigeria remain high, with consumers still paying between N1,300 and N1,650 per kilogramme despite a measurable easing in wholesale costs at major depots, a fresh market survey has shown. The update comes roughly two weeks after the Federal Government convened an emergency stakeholders' meeting in Abuja to address a supply crisis that had sent cooking gas prices as high as N2,500/kg in some parts of the country.

Depot prices ease but retail rates stay high

Market checks indicate that depot prices in Lagos have continued to fall, with 11PLC, Nipco and Ardova all pricing at N1,025/kg, Matrix at N1,030/kg, and Stockgap at N1,050/kg. Even so, retail prices across the country have not kept pace with those reductions.

Consumers in Lagos, Ibadan and Abeokuta are currently paying between N1,100 and N1,350/kg, while buyers in Benin City, Port Harcourt and Warri face rates of N1,150 to N1,400/kg. In Onitsha and Enugu, prices range from N1,200 to N1,450/kg. Abuja residents are paying N1,250 to N1,500/kg, and those in Kano and Kaduna are spending between N1,300 and N1,550/kg. The steepest prices are in Maiduguri and the broader North-East region, where cooking gas is going for N1,350 to N1,650/kg.

All of these figures sit well above the pre-crisis benchmark of under N1,000/kg that prevailed across most of Nigeria before the supply crunch.

Marketers confirm intervention not enough

Edu Inyang, National President of the Nigerian Association of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers (NALPGAM), acknowledged that the intervention ordered by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, had produced some early results, but cautioned that the benefits had not yet reached ordinary consumers.

Inyang said: “Two weeks after the emergency stakeholders’ meeting convened in Abuja by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, Nigeria’s LPG market has shown early signs of stabilisation, but the crisis is far from over. The meeting succeeded in calming market panic and improving supply, yet it has not translated into a significant reduction in retail cooking gas prices for consumers.”

Industry operators pointed to a combination of factors holding retail prices up: elevated transportation costs, import-related charges, retailers still clearing older stock purchased at peak prices, and weak domestic LPG production capacity.

NBS data confirms sharp price rise

In a related development, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported that the average retail price for refilling cooking gas rose by 13.73% on a month-on-month basis, increasing from N7,655.73 in March 2026 to N8,706.93 in April 2026.

The report also showed that the average retail price for refilling a 12.5kg cylinder of LPG rose by 13.89% month-on-month, increasing from N19,652.83 in March 2026 to N22,382.20 in April 2026. Lagos recorded the highest average price for refilling a 5kg cylinder at N9,745.10, followed by Nasarawa (N9,451.70) and Bayelsa (N9,422.74).

For Nigerian households, the sustained high cost of cooking gas means pressure on monthly budgets will persist until retail rates start tracking the decline seen at the depots, a gap that marketers say will take time and better logistics to close.