The Dangote Refinery has once again shifted the energy market in Nigeria, this time by slashing the price of cooking gas to below ₦800 per kilogram, the cheapest the country has seen in years.

For months, Nigerians have battled with skyrocketing LPG costs that often ranged between ₦1,000 and ₦1,300 per kilogram, forcing many families to turn back to kerosene or even firewood. During a recent facility tour, Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, promised to change that story. Now, he appears to be making good on his word.

The refinery, which produces around 22,000 tonnes of LPG daily, has enough capacity to influence prices across the country. By selling directly and avoiding multiple layers of middlemen, the refinery has pegged its ex-depot price at roughly ₦815/kg, undercutting other suppliers whose prices float between ₦825 and ₦900/kg.

If this trend holds, a standard 12.5kg cylinder could now sell between ₦10,200 and ₦11,000, compared to the ₦13,500 to ₦14,000 many Nigerians currently pay. For households struggling with high living costs, this is no small relief.

Many citizens have welcomed the move, praising Dangote for making clean energy more accessible. “People should not be cooking with firewood anymore,” he said, urging Nigerians to embrace safer and healthier alternatives.

But not everyone is pleased. Some long-standing gas marketers worry about being pushed out of the business. Industry players argue that while cheaper gas is welcome, Dangote’s dominance could edge smaller distributors aside and tilt the market too heavily in his favor.