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When millions of households switched to liquefied natural gas for cooking, they saw it as a modern, safer, and more convenient alternative to kerosene and firewood. But what was initially hailed as a breakthrough has begun to reveal its darker side. As gas prices continue to soar and reports of underfilled cylinders circulate, consumers are increasingly feeling the sting of hidden costs, BABATUNDE TITILOLA writes
“I only cooked thrice and boiled water once!” the middle-aged woman yelled at the gas refill shop attendant, her voice loud and demanding. Her fury was palpable, not just in her words, but in her whole demeanour. Passersby were taken aback by her aggressive presence.
What was meant to be a typical Sunday afternoon in Cele, Akeran in Ogun State, had turned into a dramatic street confrontation, akin to a reality show unfolding in real-time.
On the morning of October 6, Blessing, a mother of two had woken up, feeling the heat of frustration.
Her mind immediately fixated on the empty gas cylinder in her kitchen as she prepared for church. The thought of canceling her plans to visit the gas refill shop briefly crossed her mind.
However, upon realising the shop wouldn’t open until the afternoon, she resigned herself to the idea of handling it after the service.
Earlier in the week, she had sent her eldest son to refill the cylinder with two kilogrammes of liquefied natural gas. The family enjoyed a hearty dinner that night, and the leftover food was reheated for breakfast the following morning.
It seemed like everything was going smoothly, until Saturday evening, when Blessing’s son, tasked with heating water for dinner, came back with disheartening news—the gas had run out.
At first, Blessing could hardly grasp the news. How could the gas deplete so quickly, after only three days of use? She mentally replayed every step, trying to find an explanation.
The cylinder couldn’t have been left loose—she had made it a habit to check it carefully after each cooking session to ensure everything was secure.
Finally, Blessing’s thoughts turned to the gas refill shop. She suspected that her son had been shortchanged during the refill.
After a brief interrogation, her suspicions grew stronger.
“My son said the person who filled the gas told him that he added extra gas for him. Can someone just give gas for free?” Blessing wondered aloud, the injustice beginning to sink in.
Her mind remained preoccupied with this troubling thought throughout the church service.
She barely registered the sermon; the pastor’s words faded into the background as she replayed the situation in her head.
The anger brewed like a volcano about to erupt in her chest, fueled by the unfairness of what had happened and the inconvenience it caused her family.
The moment the service ended with a prayer, and the congregation said goodbyes, Blessing could no longer contain herself.
She stormed out of the church, heading straight to the gas shop, ready to confront the attendant and demand an explanation for the exploitation she believed she had suffered.
Heated scenes at gas shop
The young attendant sprang from his chair as soon as he spotted Blessing marching toward the shop.
Before he could utter a word, she unleashed a torrent of her pent-up frustration.
Standing just outside, she poured out her grievances, her voice echoing with fury. Passersby stopped, visibly shocked but drawn in by the drama unfolding.
“How does it make sense that two kilogrammes of gas last only three days?” she demanded, her tone a mixture of disbelief and anger.
“What happened? I was shocked when my child came to me and said the gas had finished. The gas we filled just three days ago! How can you claim to add an extra two kilogrammes and it runs out in three days? What did I cook with it?”
Despite the attendant’s efforts to calm her down, Blessing remained resolute. “I did not do anything. I filled the amount the boy paid for,” he insisted. But his words only seemed to fuel her rage.
“I did not want to go to church today. I planned to come here and scatter this place,” Blessing snapped, adjusting her dress defiantly.
“It’s only because I went to church that I’m this calm. But whatever you want to do, I don’t care. All I know is that I am not leaving here without you filling my cylinder. Any way you want to fill it, I don’t care.”
Despite pleas from the attendant and a passerby, Blessing remained resolute in her demand for a refill, appearing completely unbothered. Ultimately, it became evident that the attendant had no choice but to compensate her by refilling at least one kilogramme of gas.
Increasing prices amid exploitation
Recent investigations by Saturday PUNCH revealed an unsettling trend of exploitation at gas refill shops.
Despite escalating prices, customers have increasingly accused attendants of under-filling their cylinders, further deepening the frustrations of everyday Nigerians.
In a shocking incident on November 1, 2023, a video surfaced online showing two men lamenting about their experience at a refill shop.
One of them had taken his gas cylinder for a refill, only to discover that the cylinder had been filled with petrol instead of cooking gas.
“Petrol inside gas? See how it is drying up. In this country, petrol is put inside a cylinder. Chei,” the man exclaimed in disbelief as the suspected petrol leaked from the cylinder.
The exploitation is only compounded by the rising costs of LNG. A Saturday PUNCH survey conducted in Lagos State as of October 30, 2024, revealed that the price of a kilogramme of cooking gas had surged to N1,500 in most retail shops.
Meanwhile, in Ogun State, prices reached N1,400 per kilogramme.
The National Bureau of Statistics reported that the cost of refilling a 5kg cylinder had risen by 4.19 per cent from August to September 2024, marking a 59.9 per cent increase compared to the same period in 2023. Meanwhile, the price for refilling a 12.5kg cylinder had also climbed by 4.89 per cent in the same period.
Under-filling cylinders
Due to his tight work schedule, Kehinde Olawoyin, an Ibadan-based creative designer, rarely had the time to monitor his gas cylinder being refilled. For convenience, he often left his cylinder at a well-known gas shop in the Eleyele area, picking it up on his way home from work.
Unbeknownst to him, this routine would cost him thousands of naira over several months.
“I couldn’t believe the boy (gas attendant) would do such a thing,” he lamented.
After months of patronising the gas vendor, Olawoyin discovered that his cylinder had never been fully refilled. Though he occasionally suspected that his gas was running out faster than usual, he never imagined he had fallen victim to exploitation.
“The guy at the shop knows me. Sometimes, I even tell him to keep the change for himself,” Olawoyin explained.
However, his generosity didn’t shield him from being cheated.
On Saturday morning, August 24, while preparing breakfast, his gas unexpectedly finished. Frustrated but needing to complete his meal, he decided to drop off the cylinder with his usual vendor on his way out.
“I dropped it with him like I always do. Sometimes I pay in cash, other times I transfer money. That day, I told him I’d transfer the money on my way to the office because I didn’t have enough cash on me. He agreed,” Olawoyin said.
By evening, he picked up the refilled cylinder, unaware of the deceit he had been subjected to for months.
Later that night, during a conversation with his friend Niyi, who had come to visit, Olawoyin voiced his concerns about how quickly his gas was depleting.
His friend suggested that he might be getting cheated and advised him to try another gas shop to confirm.
The next day, Olawoyin decided to measure the gas content. With Niyi’s help, he took the cylinder to another shop to check.
“It was there we discovered that the cylinder was short by 1kg. The guy I always patronised had been filling 2kg instead of 3kg for me. I was shocked,” Olawoyin recounted.
Olawoyin and Niyi drove back to the previous gas vendor to confront him about under-filling the cylinder.
However, the vendor outrightly denied the accusation.
“He kept insisting that I must have forgotten to lock the gas properly, causing it to escape. But I knew that wasn’t true. I had been noticing that the gas finished too quickly before that day. It’s not possible that I leave the cylinder unlocked every single time,” he said.
Following this incident, Olawoyin resolved never to visit the shop where he had been exploited.
Instead, he now ensures he is present whenever his cylinder is being refilled.
“I stay there and monitor the process. I watch when they weigh the empty cylinder and when it’s filled. It’s the only way to be sure,” he said.
Olawoyin’s experience is not isolated. Many gas consumers worry they are being short-changed by vendors who under-fill cylinders.
This has led to increased vigilance among consumers whenever they refill their gas.
On October 14, Najeeb Bello, went to fill a 12kg gas cylinder in the Magodo area of Lagos, expecting N15,000 worth of gas to fill it completely.
However, he realised the cylinder wasn’t full after the refill.
“The cylinder was a composite fibre cylinder, which is transparent. You can see the level of gas inside, so it’s easy to tell when it hasn’t been filled completely,” Bello explained.
Frustrated, he demanded the attendants either fill the cylinder properly or refund the difference. After a heated exchange, the vendors finally agreed to fill the cylinder to the appropriate level.
“With the rising cost of cooking gas, it’s no surprise that some vendors resort to sharp practices,” he added.
Unfortunately, Bello encountered a similar issue on October 16 at a gas station in Ikoyi, where he went to refill another 12kg cylinder.
According to him, the widespread nature of such corrupt practices is concerning. He noted that some gas stations alter their vending meters, while local vendors manipulate their scales to short-change customers.
As an energy consultant for gas consumers, Bello is familiar with these unethical practices.
His professional encounters have further confirmed the extent of exploitation within the gas refilling industry, making it a pressing issue for many Nigerians.
These experiences have prompted Bello to advocate for composite gas cylinders, which are made of fibreglass.
“My advice is for consumers to switch to composite fibre cylinders. These are not only translucent, allowing you to see the gas level, but they are also non-explosive, rust-proof, and lightweight,” he said.
Bello further explained how LPG vendors manipulate meters to defraud customers.
“If you use the traditional cylinders, you’ll never know when they cheat you. The scale can be tampered with. They might reset it to measure in pounds instead of kilogrammes, making you think everything is correct when it isn’t. Transparent cylinders allow you to verify that your gas is being properly filled,” he explained.
Findings by Saturday PUNCH revealed that many consumers are unaware of such manipulations.
Two vendors, who spoke anonymously, disclosed that both manual and electronic scales could be altered to deceive customers.
“It’s possible,” Victor, a gas vendor and cylinder repairman in Oyo State, confirmed. “All you need is someone skilled in doing it.”
He explained that manual scales are easier to tamper with by adjusting physical components like spring tension. For electronic scales, resetting the calibration can achieve the same fraudulent result.
Altering to exploit consumers
Rejoice Awodiran, an energy expert, condemned the exploitation of gas consumers, labelling it a crime.
He advised consumers to escalate such cases to authorities like the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission.
However, he noted that a significant challenge is the absence of specific regulations governing LPG retail pricing and quantity measurement in Nigeria.
“The LPG retail market operates on a ‘willing buyer, willing seller’ basis. While retail outlets weigh cylinders before and after filling, fraud remains a problem. When fraud occurs, remedies become necessary,” he said.
Awodiran explained that the FCCPC could issue compliance notices, impose penalties, or shut down fraudulent retail outlets. He added that regulatory oversight is crucial to curb exploitation in the retail segment of the LPG value chain.
“The LPG delivery system needs improvement. Consumers primarily buy from local retailers who lack customer loyalty and are poorly regulated. Strengthening regulations in this segment can reduce exploitation,” he noted.
Ministry to ban exports amid rising prices
In response to escalating LPG prices, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, announced on October 22 that the Federal Government would enforce a ban on cooking gas exports from November 1.
“I am deeply concerned about the persistent rise in the price of LPG. Despite previous efforts, including a high-level committee led by the NMDPRA Chief Executive, Mr Farouk Ahmed, prices have continued to rise, recently reaching N1,500 per kg,” the minister said.
To address this, Ekpo directed NNPCL and LPG producers to halt exports of domestically produced LPG or import equivalent volumes at cost-reflective prices.
The minister also instructed the NMDPRA to develop a domestic LPG pricing framework within 90 days.
This framework will prioritise local production costs over external market indices.
“It’s unacceptable that Nigerians pay premium prices for a commodity we produce in abundance. Within 12 months, we will develop facilities for blending, storage, and delivery of LPG domestically. Exports will remain suspended until market stability is achieved,” Ekpo added.
