Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, a civil rights advocacy group, has asked President Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) to return the price of Liquefied Petroleum Gas, also known as cooking gas, to where it was when he took office in May 2015.

HURIWA’s National Coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko, confirmed this in an interview with The Punch on Saturday.

According to Onwubiko, Nigerians have nothing to rejoice about due to the recent increase in the cost of cooking gas.

Within the first ten months of 2021, the price of 12.5kg increased by 240%, rising from N3,000 to N10,200.

The outcome forced some LPG users to switch to charcoal or firewood, as consumers raised concerns about the commodity’s persistent price increase.

Dayo Adeshina, Programme Manager, National LPG Expansion Implementation Plan, Office of the Vice President, stated that the Federal Government was taking steps to reduce the cost of cooking gas even further.

However, during an interview on Saturday, the HURIWA coordinator stated that the marginal price reduction (less than N1,000) in cooking gas is not significant.

He said, “The failure of the relevant governmental bodies to regulate the pricing of gas assets in Nigeria is a recipe for encouraging the ballooning poverty situations that we have witnessed since 2015 that President Muhammadu Buhari has operated economic policy frameworks devoid of progressive mechanisms.

“Government lacks the requisite political will, sincerity of purpose, and commitments to do the needful to ensure that millions of homes in Nigeria are not subjected to economic ordeals just so they can get gas to power the preparations of their foods and other essential services domestically and otherwise.

“High costs of gas has led to the closure of many restaurants and small businesses thereby increasing unemployment rates in Nigeria. The high cost of gas has affected the green environment and this shows that this government is hypocritical when it mouths her readiness to take remedial steps to halt the consequences of climate change.

“All those international trips costing the taxpayers billions of naira by the President and retinue of ministers to attend climate change-related global summits without taking local steps to check unaffordable costs of gas resources in Nigeria is cosmetic and hypocritical.”

When asked if Buhari should revert the cost of cooking gas to what it was in 2015, Onwubiko replied, “Yes, but this government is unrepentantly incompetent.”

“The government derives satisfaction in imposing outrageous and satanic economic policies on Nigerians. This is even why the government has decided to tax us more for drinking soft drinks even when wives of politically exposed officials buy champagnes and expensive wines at public costs for their own enjoyment in their cocoons,” he added.