Residents in Osun have turned to alternative cooking methods following a sharp increase in the cost of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), commonly known as cooking gas.
Some residents, on Thursday in Osogbo, said they now rely on charcoal and firewood, as they can no longer afford cooking gas, which is currently sold for about N2,000 per kilogram.
The respondents noted that the rising cost of cooking gas has placed additional financial strain on household budgets and negatively impacted their businesses.
Mrs Rukayat Abiola, a fast-food vendor at Owode-Ede Market, said the surge in gas prices had significantly increased her operational costs.
According to Abiola, the rising cost has forced her and other food vendors to slightly increase menu prices to remain in business. She added that she now supplements her cooking with charcoal and firewood to minimise expenses.
She appealed to the Federal Government to address the situation and provide lasting solutions to the persistent increase in gas prices.
Similarly, Mrs Folasade Adebayo, a resident of Owode-Ede, expressed frustration over the price hike, describing the cost of refilling a gas cylinder as comparable to paying school fees.
Adebayo said she had switched to using a coal pot for cooking.
“From ₦1,400 to ₦2,000 per kilogram, how do they expect us to survive?” she asked.
Mrs Juliet Adeosun, a housewife in Osogbo, also lamented the impact of the price increase on her family.
“Things are extremely expensive. In my household, we plan our spending based on my husband’s salary as a civil servant.
“Now, the increase in gas prices has affected other essential needs. We have decided to get a coal pot at the end of the month if prices do not drop,” she told NAN.
Another resident, Mrs Foluke Olugbemiga, a petty trader in Osogbo, said she had reverted to using firewood.
“The high cost of kerosene made us stop using it years ago and switch to gas. Now that gas is becoming unaffordable, we have no choice but to return to firewood,” she said.
Meanwhile, gas retailers in the state attributed the price hike to inadequate supply.
A retailer in Dada Estate, Mr Dayo Efunkunle, said cooking gas is currently sold at about ₦2,150 per kilogram.
Efunkunle linked the increase to higher depot prices, supply fluctuations, and rising logistics costs. He explained that retailers had to adjust prices to remain in business.
He urged the Federal Government to implement measures to stabilise prices and make cooking gas more affordable.
Another retailer, Mr Kunle Ibiyemi, called for policies to boost local gas production, improve distribution networks, and address factors driving frequent price increases.
Ibiyemi warned that continued price hikes could push more households to abandon cleaner cooking fuels for alternatives such as firewood and charcoal.
He emphasised that the high retail price of gas is driven by supply shortages rather than profiteering by retailers.
(The Whistler)