LAGOS State governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has blamed the hike in cooking gas prices across the country on the economic policies of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.
Sanwo-Olu spoke during the commissioning of a gas plant built by IBILE Oil and Gas Corporation (IOGC), a state-owned energy firm, in Igbogbo-Baiyeku Local Council Development Area (LCDA) on Friday.
While describing as unacceptable the hike in the cost of cooking gas across the country, the governor blamed the development on high foreign exchange rate and the introduction of 7.5 per cent value-added tax (VAT) by the Federal Government.
He lamented that the increment in Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) price put the nation at the risk of reversing all gains achieved from awareness on the advantages of using LPG for domestic cooking.
He urged the Buhari administration to reverse the trend to make the commodity affordable while also increasing the availability of safe cooking gas in the country.
“Not only are we excited with our modest intervention by Lagos in the LPG market, it is only when we reduce the cost of basic commodities such as cooking gas that the true dividends of democracy can be felt by the people.
“We have done a lot of advocacy for people to appreciate the benefit that comes with the use of gas for domestic cooking, such as reduction in carbon footprint and improved quality of life. If we have made this great effort, the least the Federal Government can do is not to make the commodity unaffordable for the populace,” he said.
The governor added that the commissioning of the 40 metric tons LPG Refill Plant would create an alternative gas market for residents, thereby crashing the cost of cooking gas in the state.
He further noted that the inclusion of gas in the state’s energy policy would transform Lagos into a gas economy and stimulate commercial growth.
The Federal Government had blamed deregulation for the sharp increase in the price of the commodity, which is becoming unaffordable for low-income homes in the country.
Minister of State for Petroleum Resources Timipre Sylva told newsmen in Abuja on Tuesday that government cannot regulate the price of the commodity because it had been deregulated.
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