Marketers Protest As Dangote Set To Reduce Gas Price

President of the Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, has announced plans to reduce the price of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (cooking gas).

He also promised to start direct sales of the product to consumers should the existing distributors fail to allow the price crash in cooking gas.

However, operators in the sector have disagreed with the plan, saying the businessman was planning to monopolise the LPG sector. They opposed the move on Monday, as the dealers expressed concerns about a possible monopoly.

Speaking during a recent tour of his refinery by local and foreign guests, Dangote stressed that the current price of cooking gas is expensive and unaffordable for the common people who depend on firewood for cooking.

He disclosed that the refinery now produces 22,000 tonnes of LPG daily and is ramping up production for distribution into the Nigerian market, especially as Nigerians shift towards using gas for cooking.

Speaking to members of the Lagos Business School CGEO Africa, at the refinery in Lekki, Dangote said, “The one that we didn’t write, which you must have seen, is LPG. Currently, we do LPG of about 2,000 tonnes per day. You know Nigeria is gradually moving to the usage of LPG. But I believe it is expensive, but right now we’re trying to bring down the price and make it cheaper.”

Dangote warned that “if the distributors are not trying to bring it down, we’ll go directly and sell to the consumers, so that people will now transit from firewood or kerosene to LPG for cooking.”

The PUNCH recalls that Dangote plans to start the direct distribution of petrol, diesel, and aviation fuel to marketers nationwide in August, with 4,000 CNG-powered buses procured for the exercise