The Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), Mr. Bayo Ojulari, has assured Nigerians that the recent increase in the price of cooking gas will soon ease, following the resolution of the industrial action by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN).
Speaking to State House correspondents’ weekend after a meeting with President Bola Tinubu, Ojulari attributed the sharp rise in prices to temporary disruptions in gas loading and distribution during the strike.
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“The increase you saw was relatively artificial because for the period of the strike, movements and loading were delayed by about two or three days,” he explained. “As things return to normal, it will take some time for full distribution to be restored.”
He noted that the PENGASSAN strike, which was triggered by the dismissal of Nigerian workers at the Dangote Refinery, caused a temporary halt in operations. The industrial action was suspended on October 1 following the federal government’s intervention.
Ojulari also accused some retailers of taking advantage of the brief shortage to inflate prices. “As you know, in Nigeria, people take opportunity. With that delay, some of those with reserves raised prices. But now that normalcy is returning, prices should drop back to their previous levels,” he said.
The NNPC boss added that the Dangote Group’s decision to redeploy affected workers and resume operations has begun to ease supply challenges, expressing confidence that the market will stabilise in the coming weeks.