 Last year, the federal government rolled out plans to ensure the use of liquefied petroleum gas LPG as cooking fuel grows from the current 5% to 90% in the next 10 years. The government expressed concern that over 900,000 people are negatively impacted annually from the use of kerosene, firewood, and charcoal in cooking across Nigeria. But with the current hiking price, how is this feasible? My guess, Christopher Imomole is the ador of Abadji, an educationist, a university professor, a serial entrepreneur, a business mogul, and a Nigerian politician. He is the founder of the joint professional training and support international, JPCS international, and unique foundation, a non-profit, non-governmental organization. He was a presidential candidate on the platform of the Accord Party for the 2022 presidential election. Thanks for joining me, Professor Imomole. Yeah, thank you. All right. Now, you operate in the oil and gas sector. What's really going on with the price of LPG, really? You know, it's very interesting to look at the price of LPG, gone up from May 2021 from 2071 to May 2022 to 3000. From now, we are in October, 12 liters kg, 12.5 kg, now cost about 12,500, 10 kg. So you see that initially, when the price of LPG dropped, it was basically due to the international global market that had over 176.1% drop in price as at May 31 this year. There was a general drop in price in the global market, and that global market price also impacted on Nigeria, where our package dropped from 730 to 417 Naira. So we enjoyed that window for a whole lot of time. And a lot of people were clamoring that, oh, governments are doing so well, prices of cooking gas had dropped, not knowing that it was actually a benefit from the fact that the international price by the US energy, I'm talking about information there, it was an international factor. But we have a lot of local challenge here in Nigeria that would definitely impact on price of cooking gas if we do not have a proper regulation, if we do not have a proper check meeting in that sector. For example, as you should know that the local production of our gas from our exploration services can only cater for 50% of the markets, half of the markets in Nigeria. It therefore means that we still need to import most of the gases that is being consumed in Nigeria. We are talking about an era where we have challenging our effects, we have challenging how investors will do business in Nigeria. So this, of course, would continue to have impact on the price of gas. There are also issues of the middle market here and we've heard a lot of escows, a lot of stakeholders in the gas sector talk about this. The gas sector in Nigeria is drawn in a way that middlemen who are called more like a portfolio investor would come in, buy gas, bulk and supply the same to gas plant owners. Gas plant owners in Nigeria, less than 10 percent of them, can afford to buy bulk. So there is a middleman business where middlemen, portfolio investors, want to maximize profits and that by itself impacts on the cost of gas supply to consumers. So the federal government we knew actually removed vats from this sector in a way to stabilize the price but even with that a lot of factors, factor like infrastructure and deficits in Nigeria must begin to think about drawing pipes for gas supply. For too long because initially we are the traditional country that believe in the use of fossil fuel but the gas market in Nigeria have been truly educated. We now have a lot of people not just in the urban area, even down to the rural community who now believe in the use of gas. Long before now people were not accustomed to use of gas. We still run a fossil fuel country where people still use charcoal. We still have that happen but Nigerians have embraced to enlarge the use of gas, looking at the cleanliness of, it's not even about the green economy concept or the United Nations diversification or encouraging countries to start looking at running activities in a way to help the climate. But we are talking about Nigerians are not beginning to accustom itself to the use of gas. So it's beautiful at this point that gas costs of price will not be going like and we need to look at these factors. So factors like international price, price are going up again and it will affect the price of gas here. The middle market and which must be looked into and must be regulated. I'm not saying that portfolio investors should not come in and invest but investment must not be done, profit must not be done in a way that consumers will bleed. So regulators must begin to be sincere. They must begin to control the activities of those that buy bulk who want to make someone profit from the purchase of gases, which eventually goes to gas plant owners who sells to the to the final consumers. There is a lot of issues, the issue of exploration, which we must begin to look at. We have not as a country, unless our gas reserve. We have a normal gas reserve and it's not too good at Nigeria, the country, who has huge gas reserve in the numbers. For example, Anambra has huge gas deposits. Yes, we have we have oil wells that are associated oil wells. Oil wells means that these oil wells have gas and crude in it. But we still flare most of these gases because we need to begin to engage technology to help us explore gas and ensure that we can serve our market. If the gas we produce in Nigeria can only accommodate 50 percent of Nigeria's supply and demand needs, then there is a huge challenge. And we may continue to experience fluntuation, especially on the side of gases. Okay, still looking at it in other angles. You've talked about what happened to the international market, but if we bring it back home right now economically, we have the free fall of the Naira and the issue of FX still being like a burden for most businessmen. And lately people have been converting from use of PMS to using LPG for their cars. Have all of these factors also affected the price of an LPG in Nigeria? Definitely the price of diesel, which is AGO, price of PMS, which is the petroleum, the gasoline, you know, at shoot up. So Nigerians are now looking at how do we use alternative energy sources that are less expensive. So we now see many combustion chamber being converted in a way that you can now convert your combustion into a gas use and use gas. So that by itself also has increased the need and the demand for gas. So that is what we are talking about. So the need and the demand for gas by itself and looking at the supply we have, Nigeria's economy is blessed with gas. We have so much gas reserve, which you have the highest gas in Africa, even as compared to Libyan and Angola. But we have not been able to effectively tap our investors, regulate them to understand the need to explore gas for first our local use. So there is a stretch or a stress on that, on the demand of gas. And let me say this during the previous administration, I believe that the price of kerosene was intentionally increased to encourage Nigerians to use gas. Because what actually led to Nigerian massive adoption of gas was a particular era, if we must remember, where kerosene was so, we had the stations that we knew that there was a time that almost all different stations stopped selling kerosene. Because to a large extent, the highest percentage of Nigeria owned were using kerosene as stoves to cook. But there was a particular time where the price of kerosene was so high. That was one of the major factors that switched the mind of Nigerians to begin to use gas where it was cheaper. Now, price of PMS and IGU is on the high side. Many industries, many domestic homes and even cars are beginning to look at gas options. Like you have said, which I concur with, the price of gas will go up also, which is also a major factor because of the demand. Many energy utility vehicles, energy generators, there's no power in most communities in Nigeria. So Nigeria being a country where people generate power for themselves. So they will be dependent on either gas, either PMS, and like we are saying, the price of PMS is shooting up after the removal of subsidy. The price of IGU has gone up after the fights. We'll talk about IGU because after the fight of the Bunkery guys in the creek, because you must know that large percentage of IGUs we use in Nigeria are manufactured from the creek. Yes, these are some of the things and that is some of our advice government that as we begin to encourage building of our refinery, as we begin to encourage licensing modular refinery, we must begin to look at those small scale refineries that is being used by these boys in the creek. Yes, it's an illegal operation, but we can begin to look at it. Those are our local technology here. We can begin to look at this and begin to bring in research, bring in technology to help in looking at this small scale refinery and begin to license it. So that Nigeria can by themselves have small scale refinery beyond just modular refinery and the bigger scale refineries like the one being used by Dangote, like the already refinery like the elementary refinery in Podakot and the secondary refinery. We can begin to look at this small scale. Yes, it's an illegal operation, but a country can look around it and begin to legalize it, license it, control it because what is most important is to make sure that we meet our energy demand. And when we begin to do that, we begin to have less stress on gas and that will also help to stabilize the price of gas. Okay, Professor Imumulen, I'm really, really very worried as most Nigerians are because they are worried that it could actually soar higher as much as 18,000 by December. You know, that's the station of the Lekrify Petroleum Gas. They were in the news not too long ago and they talked about how terminal owners are actually making the most of the opportunities as it were. You know, what can we do in the interim because this is October and we hear that by the next month it could go as high as 18,000 for 12.5 kilogram. What can the government begin to do in the next days and weeks? Yes, to begin to quickly regulate the activities of terminal owners, begin to look deeply into the activities of the middlemen because that is a short-term intervention. The short-term intervention is to begin to have meetings, have what's it called? Discussion with terminal owners to make sure that yes, you're going to make profit, but we should not make the consumers bleed because that by itself affects the economy. Because this is more like the only suko that many homes now have. If that is not done, you know, people are going to revet to the use of fossil fuel because that is already happening. And when that happens, it will not encourage the green economy, the green, what's it called, sustainable environment we're with, that which is part of the plan and what Nigeria has signed to with the United Nations. So there must be immediate discussion with portfolio investors. Government must begin to invest also. NMPC must begin to look at this sector. I'm talking about the LNG must begin to look at this sector and begin to invest temporarily to suko it while we are looking at producing. If the local production we have in Nigeria, local production for gas can only save half of the market, then it's an issue. Because like you have said, which I agree with, that the price of forest, look at what is happening to our forest, our exchange rate, it's 50% of the demand is still being brought into Nigeria, cost of logistics, you know, and the rest of it will definitely impact on this. So while we're trying to back to with that, there must be an immediate intervention and discussion, harmonization with the portfolio investors. Okay lastly now, very quickly, Profa, as we round off the show. In passing, you mentioned the NLNG, you know, over time, you know, what can we do to ensure that their capacity is actually upgraded? So at least they can, because like you said, we have enormous gas potentials and supply across the country. How do we begin to make sure that the NLNG is actually harnessed and their capacity can be built so that Nigeria can actually get beyond this 50% that you talked about? Yes, one is immediate encouragement of investors. Investors in those industries need to be encouraged. I've talked about those in the exploration services now. We need to give that sector more priority by ensuring that we give waivers, you know, like countries like Malaysia, where you have five years' tax waiver for those who invest in oil and gas. We have that happen in some sectors in the US and some other countries. We need to be looking at tax rebates. We need to be looking at things to attract investors in that regime, in that sector. Yeah, people want to invest in that. We need to look at the double taxation, the rigid, the rigid, the rigid, the policies that surround licensing in that area. And again, we must discover gas flaring. The NLNG, which is an arm of the Nigerian Petroleum and the NLNG, must begin to look at how to also ensure that the private oil and gas companies who are involved should totally stop that gas flaring. Most of these gases can be used, converted to what we use as our domestic cooking gas. And that comes with a lot of, I know it's a huge investment, but it is investment that should be done. Encourage investors to reduction or reduction of the bottleneck in licensing, bringing in investors and encouraging them by looking at tax reduction, tax waivers in certain areas for years. And a huge investment in infrastructure. Infrastructure is key. People still move gas from Lagos to, let's start building pipes. We have pipes from Russia to Canada. We have pipes that are being moved, that are moving gas all over the world. We look at the Niger issue. And many people are lacking it to the pipe that moves gas from one country to another. Nigeria must begin to look at huge investments because that's the way forward. All right. Thank you so much, Prof. You couldn't have said it. I'm better. We have been speaking with Professor Emu Mualin. He is a serial entrepreneur and he is also the founder of JPTS and of course Unique Foundation. Many thanks for all of the input you have brought on the show this morning. We do appreciate it. Thank you so much. All right. That's the size of the show for today. I am Justin Akadene. Business Insight will return to your screen. Same time tomorrow. Many thanks for watching. Bye for now.