Cooking gas sellers in Lagos excluded from lockdown – Marketers

Nigerian Association of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers (NALPGAM) says sales of Liquefied Petroleum Gas, also known as cooking gas, is exempted from the lockdown in Lagos.

NALPGAM made the confirmation in a statement issued by its Executive Secretary, Bassey Essien, on Wednesday.

President Muhammadu Buhari had on Sunday announced the lockdown of Abuja, Lagos and Ogun States in a bid to curtail the spread of coronavirus.

NALPGAM disclosed that the Lagos State Ministry of Energy and Resources had cleared dealers to continue to serve residents.

Essien noted that the clarification became necessary to avoid the overzealousness of security personnel in enforcing the order.

“The fact that people have to stay indoors for two weeks in the first instance, entails that households must cook and eat for the stay at home order to be effective”, NAN quoted him as saying.

“While the directive listed petroleum products and petrol stations as essential services, the association needed a clarification on the status of gas filling plants and cooking gas retail outlets as cooking is essential to the survival of households.”

The scribe cautioned security operatives against blocking gas sales operations and also to allow them free movement from their homes to their places of work.

Essien urged other states to emulate Lagos in exempting LPG retailers from the lockdown, adding that a letter had been forwarded to the Nigeria Governors Forum in that regard.

NALPGAM advised the citizens to observe all the precautionary measures meant to tackle the global pandemic.

He thanked health officials and government agencies for their service as well as individuals and organisations that had made financial donations to contain the spread of the virus.