The National President of the Liquefied Petroleum Gas Reps. Association of Nigeria, Mr. Odo Gbolahan, that confirmed the danger facing the country from an off-specification cooking gas in the Nigerian Market.
This product is being imported from Niger Republic and has a higher proportion of explosive propane than the Liquefied Natural Gas (LPG) produced in Nigeria.
The LPG in Nigeria is produced by the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Limited and the refineries. It has a pressure of 5Bars and consists mostly of less dangerous butane.
However, the LPG imported from Niger has a pressure of 15Bars and although it is cheaper, it has a highly-explosive nature in our climate and because of the propane content.
Mr Odo said: “The propane gas they are bringing from Niger axis is four times the pressure of the gas that is meant to be used in Nigeria. The propane gas is meant to be used in the western world with cold climate because the rate at which the LPG will be evaporating in that place is very low. The propane is not meant for Nigeria with hot climate because the pressure can burst cylinders and hoses.”
Also speaking on the issue, the Out-going President of National Association of LPG Marketers (NALPGMA), confirmed the circulation of the highly detrimental product and revealed that some marketers use the cheap LPG to “blend” with the expensive ones from Nigeria to make huge profit, despite its hazardous nature.
Gbolahan added that, “we welcome and recognise the importer of LPG through the landed border because they help to crash the price in the local market. But at the same time, the welfare of our people should be more important to us than the money anybody is making.”
They say a word is enough for the wise; so thus, how important is your health compared to a little extra cash? As we await the Federal Government to intervene in the best capacity possible, let’s expand our investigations and take caution as we purchase the LPG available in the market.