The Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), Bayo Ojulari, has attributed the recent spike in cooking gas prices across the country to the temporary halt in operations caused by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) strike.
Ojulari, who spoke to journalists on Sunday after meeting with President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, explained that the industrial action disrupted gas loading and distribution for several days, creating an artificial shortage that drove up prices.
“The increase you saw was relatively artificial because, during the strike, loading and movement were delayed by about two to three days,” he said. “As things return to normal, it takes a little while for supply and distribution to stabilise.”
He also accused some dealers of exploiting the situation to hike prices, saying: “In Nigeria, people often take advantage of such disruptions. Those who had stock decided to increase prices during the delay.”
Ojulari, however, assured Nigerians that prices are expected to drop in the coming days as operations have resumed fully. “Now that things are back to normal, I expect prices to return to what they were before the strike,” he added.
The PENGASSAN strike, which began over the alleged wrongful dismissal of workers at the Dangote Refinery, disrupted fuel and gas supply nationwide. It was eventually suspended on October 1 following federal government intervention and an agreement by the Dangote Group to redeploy the affected workers.
