Many Nigerians residing in Benin city, capital of Edo State, have expressed concern over the hike in price of cooking gas, which now sells for N1,400 per kilogramme.
Ekata Ogieva, a cooking gas vendor said that the recent increment in the price of cooking gas was due to short supply.
“We bought 50kg of cooking gas for N45,000 a week ago, but it has gone up to N60,000. In 2023 December, we bought 50kg cooking gas for N44,000.
“The painful situation is that we can only get about 45kg of gas from the 50kg gas cylinder after sales, so we do not make enough profit.
“We are losing our customers due to the incessant hike in the price of cooking gas. Some people have used firewood and charcoal,’’ she said.
Loveth Osunde, a mother of three, told NAN that families were finding it difficult to put food on the table, noting that the sudden spike in cooking gas price was crippling the already strained budget.
“We can barely make ends meet as it is, the rising gas prices only add to our financial woes, making it even harder to provide for our children.’’
Narrating his bitter tale, Raymond Omobude, a civil servant, said many workers are not smiling because the burden of higher gas prices eats into their hard-earned wages and salaries.
“I used to rely on cooking gas to prepare meals for my family, but with the recent price hike, I am forced to explore alternatives, like the use of firewood, though it is not also cheap, just to make ends meet,’’ he said.
Sarah Obioma, a restaurant owner, said she is struggling to stay afloat in the business as the surge in gas prices only compounds the economic woes in the country.
“Things are just so expensive, I don’t know why the gas we produce in the country will keep being so expensive,’’ she said.
The concerned Nigerians have however, called on the government to roll out more palliatives and other forms of intervention to address the soaring cost of gas.
(NAN)
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