Hike in prices of cooking fuel unsettles Benin residents

Residents of Benin, the Edo capital, on Thursday lamented the recent hike in the prices of liquefied petroleum gas (cooking gas) and kerosene in the state.
Some of the residents, described the hike as devastating, coupled with the high prices of food items in the country.
They said the situation had forced them to begin to look for charcoal and firewood as substitutes.
A price survey conducted by the agency’s correspondent in Benin showed that a litre of kerosene which sold for N250 at some filling stations in June now sells for N350.
However, some retailers in Benin metropolis now sell a litre of the commodity to consumers between N380 and N400.
Similarly, the filling of a 12.5kg cylinder with cooking gas has now increased from N5, 625 in June to between N6, 875 and N7, 500.
Mrs Priscilla Emeka, a cooking gas retailer at Ikpoba Hill, Benin, described the increment in the price of the commodity as unfriendly, adding that it had negatively affected patronage.
“Everyone is complaining about the hike in the prices of cooking gas and kerosene; both the wholesalers, retailers and final consumers have been affected by the increase in the prices of these products.
“We no longer enjoy patronage as before because some of our customers have resorted to the use of charcoal and firewood for cooking.
“We are appealing to the government to help in reducing the prices so that business will boom again for us,” Emeka said.
In the same vein, Miss Healing Ares, a restaurant owner at Akpakpava Road, Benin, noted that the hike in the prices of cooking fuels had reduced her profit margin considerably.
“We have to slightly reduce our daily profit margin so that we can retain our customers and remain in business.
“We are not happy with the increment in the prices of cooking gas and kerosene because it will also make the prices of charcoal and firewood to increase.
“I used to buy a bag of charcoal for N2,500, but it now goes for N3,000,” she said.
A civil servant, Mr Moses Osawe, who also lamented the hike in the prices of cooking fuels appealed to the government to allocate more quota to cooking gas and kerosene in the domestic market annually.
“Prices usually increase when there is scarcity; so, we are begging the government to allocate more quantity of cooking gas and kerosene for domestic use on annual basis.
“The government can also control prices of cooking gas and kerosene by ensuring that unscrupulous people do not increase the prices unnecessarily.”
Also, Mr Philip Ogbeh, an undergraduate student in Benin, lamented the financial hardships the students were facing due to persistent increase in the prices of cooking fuels.
“How can a student read and understand when he or she is hungry? The hike in the prices of cooking fuels coupled with hike in food prices have thrown many students into hunger.
“It is now very expensive to eat in restaurants because the quantity of food that was previously sold for N300 is now N500.
“Some people are saying we should start using firewood to cook, but we don’t have the space in our hostels to use such fuel,” he noted.