The scarcity of kerosene, used by millions of largely poor Nigerians for cooking, has hit major cities causing huge increase in price, Premium Times reported.

In Lagos, the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) lamented that there is not a single drop of kerosene in any of the private depots and that of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), informed Daily Post.

Kaduna and Zaria in Kaduna State and Calabar in Cross River State and other cities are hardly affected. Attendants at a station in Kaduna told Premium Times scarcity began early January as they did not get any supplies from Lagos and Kaduna Refinery.

NUPENG’s Vice-Chairman and Surface Tank Kerosene Peddlers’ (SUTAKEP) National Chairman, Rotimi Benjamin, stated that the scarcity has forced the marketers that have the product in their stations to increase the price by over 60%. He added: “Common man cannot afford the price of cylinder and cooking gas. Our mothers in the village depend on kerosene, an essential household commodity, to cook. Government should address the issue and alleviate the sufferings of the masses by making the product available.”