According to a recently published study by the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the cost of cooking gas, also known as liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), rose by 12% from N4,589 in just a single year.
The average retail price for refilling a 5 kg cylinder increased by 3.5% on a monthly basis from N4,963 recorded in December 2023 to N5,139 in January 2024, according to the report titled “Liquefied Petroleum Gas (Cooking Gas) Price Watch (January 2024)”. Meanwhile, the price of a 5 kg cooking gas went from N4,589 in January 2023.
According to a state profile research, Nassarawa had the highest average cost of N5,790 for refueling a 5-kg cooking gas cylinder, followed by Jigawa at N5,682 and Gombe at N5,660.
Conversely, Ogun and Osun had the highest prices at N4,751 and N4,763, respectively, while Kaduna had the lowest price at N4,150.
Furthermore, zone-by-zone study revealed that N5,296 was the average retail price in the North-East, N5,240 in the North-Central, and N4,805 in the South-West for refilling a 5-kg cylinder.
Additionally, the average retail cost to refill a 12.5 kilogram cylinder was up from N11,510 in December 2023 to N11,736 in January 2024, a month-over-month increase of 1.96 percent. This increased from N10,277 in January 2023 to N14.2 percent on an annual basis.
According to a state profile analysis, Cross River had the highest average retail price of N13,040 for refilling a 12.5 kg cylinder, followed by N12,875 in Jigawa and N12,725 in Zamfara.
On the other hand, Kaduna had the lowest average price, at N9,699, followed by Kwara and Niger, with N10,000 and N10,400, respectively.
The South-South reported the highest average retail price of N12,602 for refilling a 12.5kg cylinder, followed by the North-West with N12,225, and the South-West with N11,189, according to zone-by-zone analysis.
The report follows nationwide increases in living expenses, with inflation increasing by 29.9% in January.