Cooking Gas Prices Surge 50% Despite VAT Waiver, Petrol Rises 76% Y-o-Y

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja 

The soaring prices of key fuels in Nigeria have continued to take their toll on Nigerian homes and businesses, with cooking gas skyrocketing by over 50 per cent despite the waiver of Value Added Tax (VAT) in the last quarter of 2023 and petrol price shooting up by 76.99 per cent year-on-year.

New data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) indicated that between December 2023 and December 2024, the cost of refilling a 12.5kg Cylinder of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) or cooking gas continued to rise, although the federal government announced the withdrawal of 7.5 per cent tax to crash prices.

The rising prices of petrol and LPG have had a significant impact on Nigerians, affecting various aspects of their lives, reducing purchasing power, raising cost of production, leading to higher transportation costs and  affecting the general prices of goods and services.

The hike in pump prices has raised socio-economic pressure on families, making it difficult for them to afford basic necessities, while the increased cost of cooking gas has also affected households, particularly low-income families who rely heavily on gas for cooking.

Besides, the high cost of cooking gas has led to an increase in the use of firewood and charcoal, posing a threat to environmental sustainability. However, experts blame the continuous increase in these fuels  on global market forces.

But it remains ironic that despite Nigeria removing VAT on cooking gas, to alleviate economic hardship and promote cleaner energy, prices continue to soar.

The impact on manufacturers and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) has been particularly severe, worsening inflation, which already stands at over 34 per cent and potential closure of already struggling businesses.

“On a year-on-year basis, the average retail price for refilling a 12.5kg cylinder of LPG rose by 50.08 per cent from N11,510.16 in December 2023,” the NBS report stated.

However, month-on-month, the average retail price for refilling a 12.5kg cylinder, the report said, decreased marginally by 0.05 per cent from N17,283.58 in November 2024 to N17,274.16 in December 2024.

Also, the average retail price for refilling a 5kg cylinder of LPG increased by 1.26 per cent on a month-on-month basis from N7,088.16 recorded in November 2024 to N7,177.27 in December 2024. On a year-on-year basis, this increased by 44.62 per cent from N4,962.87 in December 2023. 

On state profile analysis, Taraba recorded the highest average price for refilling a 5kg cylinder of cooking gas, with N8,074.41, followed by Lagos with N7,910.71, and Benue with N7,900.00. 

On the other hand, Delta recorded the lowest price with N6,455.00, followed by Ondo and Zamfara with N6,683.33 and N6,778.57 respectively.

In addition, analysis by zone showed that the North-east recorded the highest average retail price for refilling a 5kg cylinder, with N7,404.33, followed by the North-central with N7,352.32 while the South-south recorded the lowest with N6,969.99. 

On state profile analysis, Taraba recorded the highest average retail price for the refilling of a 12.5kg, with N20,290.75, followed by Yobe with N19,000.00 and Rivers with N18,710.94. Conversely, the lowest average price was recorded in Kebbi with N15,733.33, followed by Nasarawa and Kwara with N15,875.00 and N16,109.38, respectively. 

Analysis by zone showed that the North-east recorded the highest average retail price for refilling a 12.5kg cylinder, with N18,173.90, followed by the South-west with N17,544.26 while the North-central recorded the lowest price with N16,482.47.

As for petrol, the average retail price paid by consumers  for December 2024 was N1189.12, indicating a 76.99 per cent increase compared to the value recorded in December 2023 of N671.86. 

Comparing the average price value with the previous month, that is, November 2024, the average retail price decreased by 2.06 per cent from N1214.17.

A state-bystate analysis saw Taraba having the highest average retail price for petrol, at N1307.05, Adamawa and Delta States were next, with N1301.33 and N1282.71, respectively. 

On the other hand, Oyo State, Abuja, and Ogun State had the lowest average retail prices petrol, at N1088.75, N1102.25, and N1106.07 respectively, while on the zonal profile, the North-east zone had the highest average retail price of N1245.90, while the South-west zone had the lowest price of N1116.00.

President Bola Tinubu announced the removal of the fuel subsidy in his inaugural speech on May 29, 2023. Since then, the price of petrol has risen from about N194 per litre to over N1,000 per litre.

Tinubu’s administration has said it aims to use the funds previously allocated for subsidies to support other critical areas, such as education, healthcare, and infrastructure development.

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