People turn to charcoal, firewood

February 13, 2011 02:59AM



Wood and charcoal sellers in Lagos have increased the prices of their products, following the hike in the price of kerosene, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports. A survey on Friday revealed that a stack of wood, which was sold for between N50 and N60, is now selling for N120, while the price of a bag of charcoal has jumped from N500 to N1,200. A 54-year-old charcoal seller, Abosede Ajayi, said that she decided to increase her price due to an increase in patronage.

“The patronage is high and this is an opportunity for firewood and charcoal sellers to make our own money because once the price of kerosene drops, people will no longer patronise us,” she said.

A litre of kerosene goes for between N130 and N150 in a few filling stations that still have the product instead of the official price of N50. Kerosene is being sold for as much as N200 a litre in the open market. Some Lagos residents said that they had resorted to the use of firewood, charcoal and sawdust to cope with the current scarcity of kerosene.

“I can no longer afford to buy kerosene at the price it is being sold now, considering the economic hardship in the country. The increment is too much,” said Morayo Wilson, a resident of Ketu.

She appealed to the government to urgently address the situation before it got out of hand. Oyenike Jimoh, a food seller at the National Theatre, Iganmu, said that the high cost of kerosene had compelled her to reduce the quantity of food being sold to customers.

“I prefer to use firewood rather than kerosene now, and I have reduced the quantity of food and my customers are complaining,” she said.

Kubura Afinni, another food seller in Ebute-Metta, said that she had temporarily stopped cooking since the increase in the price of kerosene.

“I cannot continue cooking and my customers keep complaining that the food is too small. I tried explaining to my customers, but they seemed not to understand me,” she said.

Mobinga:



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