President of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has unveiled plans to reduce the price of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), commonly known as cooking gas, and has warned that he may begin direct sales to consumers if distributors hinder price cuts.
Dangote made the announcement during a recent tour of his refinery in Lekki, Lagos, alongside members of the Lagos Business School’s CGEO Africa. He revealed that the refinery is currently producing 22,000 tonnes of LPG daily and aims to flood the local market with supply to make gas more affordable, especially for households still relying on firewood and kerosene.
“If the distributors don’t bring the price down, we’ll sell directly to the consumers,” Dangote said. “Nigeria is gradually shifting to LPG, but it’s still too expensive. We want to change that.”
Currently, cooking gas sells for between ₦1,000 and ₦1,300 per kilogram. Dangote’s move is expected to bring prices down significantly.
However, the announcement has sparked backlash among existing operators in the LPG sector, who fear a looming monopoly. Speaking to The PUNCH, Godwin Okoduwa, former chairman of the LPG and Natural Gas Downstream Group of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, called Dangote’s approach “monopolistic” and cautioned against sidelining existing market players.
Okoduwa argued that the LPG market in Nigeria has grown from 70,000 metric tonnes in 2007 to over 1.3 million tonnes in 2022 through years of collaboration between private investors, the federal government, and the Nigeria LNG.
“We didn’t get here overnight,” he said. “Yes, Dangote has invested heavily, but he didn’t create the market. Collaboration, not domination, is the path forward.”
He added that Nigeria’s per capita LPG consumption remains low with around 5 to 6 kg compared to double-digit figures in countries like South Africa, Morocco, and Tunisia, and urged Dangote to focus his efforts on expanding LPG infrastructure in underserved regions such as the Northeast.
Also reacting, Bassey Essien, Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Association of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers, dismissed the feasibility of Dangote’s direct-to-consumer sales or promised price crash.
“I think it’s unrealistic,” he said. “Even with petrol, has the refinery been able to sell directly to consumers at a lower cost? Let’s be realistic.”
Dangote is also set to begin the direct nationwide distribution of petrol, diesel, and aviation fuel by August, using a fleet of 4,000 CNG-powered buses.
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