Cooking gas in Nigeria has hit ₦2,000 per kilogram in some locations — and a leading human rights organisation says the government's silence is making it worse.
The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has raised the alarm over the sustained rise in Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) prices, warning that the cost has now crossed from economic inconvenience into a direct welfare crisis.
What HURIWA Is Saying
In a statement signed by its National Coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko, HURIWA described the development as a product of weak market regulation and government inaction.
The group was direct:
"Cooking gas, which remains a basic household necessity, is gradually becoming unaffordable for ordinary Nigerians already battling high food prices, rising transport fares and increasing electricity costs."
HURIWA argued that access to affordable cooking fuel should be treated as a matter of public interest — not left to market forces that are clearly not working in consumers' favour.
The Real Cost on Households
The organisation warned that families are now making impossible tradeoffs — cooking gas or school fees, cooking gas or food.
At ₦2,000 per kilogram, a standard 12.5kg cylinder now costs around ₦25,000 to refill. For a household earning minimum wage or just above it, that is a significant monthly line item competing directly with food and rent.
HURIWA also flagged a consequence that goes beyond wallets: if LPG continues to move out of reach, more Nigerians will return to firewood and charcoal. That shift carries its own costs — deforestation, environmental degradation, and the serious health risks of indoor smoke inhalation, particularly for women and children who spend the most time near cooking fires.
Who They're Calling Out
HURIWA specifically criticised what it described as inadequate oversight of the energy market and called on the Federal Government and relevant regulators to investigate the drivers behind the latest price surge.
The group urged authorities to identify and sanction operators engaging in exploitative pricing, and to implement stabilisation measures before the situation worsens further.
This is not the first time Nigeria's LPG market has come under scrutiny. Our earlier report on cooking gas prices hitting ₦2,000 per kg across Lagos and Abuja tracked how the price spike began spreading nationally weeks ago.
The Bottom Line
When a rights group — not an energy analyst, not a market economist — starts leading the conversation on gas prices, it signals that the issue has moved past policy debate into something more urgent.
Governance, HURIWA insists, should be measured by whether ordinary Nigerians can afford to cook their meals.
Right now, millions cannot.
Comments (0)
No comments yet.