Some domestic gas users said that they were irked by the sudden price increase which they said was arbitrary and thoughtless.

A resident in Surulere, Mrs Rebecca Aleshinloye, complained that gas sellers annually exploit users by increasing price of the product during festive periods.

She said, “I filled my cylinder with gas at N3, 500 in December, but surprisingly I was told the price has been changed to N4, 500.

“In annoyance, I went to a gas plant inside a filling station, thinking that it would be cheaper, but was told they me to buy at N5, 000.

“I had no choice, but to go back to the first gas plant to fill my cylinder. This practice of gas sellers is highly unfair to users considering the economic situation in the country.

“I appeal to the relevant regulatory agencies to halt this practice by monitoring and checking the excesses of the sellers.”

A resident of Abule Egba, Mrs Jennifer Eluko, said that cooking gas price rose on December 24 at most of the sale points in the area.

She said, “I usually filled two cylinders ahead of the festive period because I know that sellers would sometimes create artificial scarcity and inflate the price.”

A retailer at Ikorodu, Mr. Ben Nwabueze, said that the price increase was a local problem which would phase out as more plants restock the product.

He said, “Yearly, because of the heavy cooking that takes place during Christmas period, there is usually high demand for gas.

“We try to ration it and sometimes increase price a little because we cannot restock till after the break when loading starts at the depo“More so, it will still take some days before the product circulates, thereby forcing reduction in the price.”

NAN

Punchng