KEY POINTS
- Nigeria’s gas minister ordered NMDPRA to investigate and sanction marketers hoarding cooking gas.
- Global supply disruptions from the Israel-Iran conflict are partly driving Nigeria’s LPG price surge.
- Planned June LPG supply volumes are expected to exceed national demand if distribution holds up.
Nigeria’s federal government is done waiting. With cooking gas prices climbing and millions of households squeezed, the government called an emergency meeting and came out swinging at the people it believes are making the crisis worse.
Ekperikpe Ekpo, minister of state for petroleum resources in charge of gas, convened an emergency stakeholders’ engagement on rising LPG prices on Sunday. He left no ambiguity about what he wanted done.
Ekpo directed the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority to intensify market surveillance. He told them to investigate hoarding and diversion. He told them to sanction operators manipulating the market.
“NMDPRA and other regulators should intensify monitoring, publish market updates, investigate hoarding and diversion, and sanction operators who manipulate the market,” Ekpo said.
The directive did not stop at the regulator.
Security agencies called in as government widens the net
Ekpo specifically named the Department of State Services, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Nigerian Police Force. He charged all three to support regulators in preventing diversion, illegal storage and disruption of legitimate LPG supply movement. That is a significant escalation. Bringing anti-corruption and intelligence agencies into a market surveillance mandate signals how seriously Abuja is treating the price spike.
Depot owners were told to publish loading schedules, disclose stock levels and ensure fair access. Retailers were told to display prices openly and avoid arbitrary increases. Marketers and importers were told to bring in additional volumes, disclose cargo arrival schedules and avoid speculative withholding of supplies.
The government identified several causes behind the price surge. Global supply disruptions linked to the Israel-Iran conflict played a role. So did incomplete domestication of local LPG production, low import volumes, non-cost-reflective pricing by wholesalers and inadequate distribution infrastructure.
June supply expected to exceed demand if distribution holds
There was a note of measured optimism. The NMDPRA said planned LPG supply volumes for June are expected to exceed estimated national demand, provided delivery is timely and distribution efficient. Marketers have indicated readiness to increase imports. Expected output from new domestic facilities, including the Seplat gas facility, will add further supply to the market.
Ekpo also disclosed that the government is exploring a local LPG blending initiative involving Nigeria LNG, local producers and the Port Harcourt plant operator. The initiative is designed to cut logistics costs and support more stable prices.
“I charge every stakeholder to deliver outcomes Nigerians can see and feel,” the minister said.
