The President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has announced plans to reduce the price of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), popularly known as cooking gas.
Dangote noted that his company may begin direct sales to consumers if existing distributors resist efforts to lower prices.
Dangote made this known while addressing local and international visitors during a recent tour of his refinery in Lekki, Lagos.
According to him, the current price of LPG, which ranges between ₦1,000 and ₦1,300 per kilogram, is unaffordable for many Nigerians. He said the refinery currently produces about 2,000 tonnes of LPG daily and is ramping up capacity to deepen domestic usage and drive a nationwide transition from firewood and kerosene to cleaner cooking alternatives.
“We are trying to bring down the price and make it cheaper,” he said. “If the distributors are not trying to bring it down, we’ll go directly and sell to the consumers, so that people can now transit from firewood or kerosene to LPG for cooking.”
Dangote’s remarks come as the group prepares to begin direct distribution of petroleum products—petrol, diesel, and aviation fuel—across the country in August, supported by 4,000 CNG-powered buses.
But industry players have raised concerns over what they describe as a monopolistic approach to market reform.
In an interview with Punch, Godwin Okoduwa, former chairman of the LPG and Natural Gas Downstream Group at the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the plan risks undermining years of growth driven by public-private collaboration.
“I think it’s monopolistic,” Mr Okoduwa said. “The LPG industry in Nigeria grew from 70,000 metric tonnes in 2007 to over 1.3 million tonnes by 2022. That was achieved through collaboration between the federal government, the NLNG, and private offtakers.”
He warned that displacing current players could erode investor confidence and disrupt the progress already made.
“This is not a zero-sum game,” he said. “There are people who have spent years building this market. Yes, Dangote has invested significantly, but he should also respect the efforts of those who developed the structure he is now entering. The LPG market is large enough to support cooperation rather than domination.”
Mr Okoduwa recommended that the company prioritise investment in underserved areas such as Nigeria’s North-East, which he said suffers from minimal LPG penetration.
Also speaking, Bassey Essien, Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Association of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers, cast doubt on the feasibility of Mr Dangote’s direct-to-consumer approach, questioning whether the refinery has been able to replicate such retail distribution with other petroleum products.
“I think it is unrealistic,” he said. “Has the refinery been able to sell petrol directly to consumers at a cheaper rate?”
Stakeholders argue that while reducing the price of LPG is a laudable goal, the strategy must not exclude or marginalise existing operators who have invested in developing distribution networks across the country.
Nigeria continues to struggle with low per capita LPG consumption, estimated at below 6kg annually, significantly lower than regional peers like South Africa, Morocco, and Tunisia.
Experts say boosting access to affordable gas is crucial to addressing health, environmental, and economic challenges associated with traditional cooking fuels. But they warn that policy and market reforms must balance affordability, investment protection, and long-term sectoral growth.
