By Thompson ABISOLA
Some entrepreneurs in Ibadan say there is a major shift from the use of Kerosene to Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), also known as cooking gas, for commercial and household cooking.
They made the claim in Ibadan on Sunday.
Mrs Toyin Ajiboye, an events planner, said it was cheaper and faster to use cooking gas, especially for large events, than kerosene.
“For me, LPG is cheaper compared to kerosene when it comes to catering for large numbers of people and I think that is why many caterers and confectioners prefer cooking gas. Besides, it makes cooking for events cleaner.
“Many households shifted to the use of cooking gas, this I can attest to judging by the long queues at different retail cooking gas stations and mini gas outlets,” she said.
Mrs Blessing Ogundairo, a caterer, said the problem with kerosene was that it dried up faster, besides the fact that it remained more expensive.
“Many people realised long ago that it is cheaper and faster to use cooking gas than kerosene. There is a time that kerosene was gold in this country, this opened the eyes of people to LPG which has become a good alternative.
“Though there are records of gas explosions in different parts of the country, it has not stopped people from using the commodity,” Ogundairo said.
Mr Bumni Adeite, an education consultant, said that only people with low level of education found it difficult to operate gas cylinders and they were the ones who still used kerosene.
“As our population grows, many young people, especially the uneducated, use cooking gas. The reason is not far fetched as it is more convenient to use than kerosene, especially now that the price of cooking gas is reduced.
“Others find it trendy to use since people around them now use cooking gas, it has become a matter of status for some people. This has given rise to the increase in the number of cooking gas retailers, especially the small outlets on various streets in Ibadan,” she said.
Other entrepreneurs said that the repulsive smell of kerosene was another reason why people shifted from it to cooking gas.
They further said that the use of kerosene resulted in black stains on cooking utensils, especially on pots.
Besides, kerosene was not environmentally friendly as the number of fire accidents were more with kerosene than cooking gas, the entrepreneurs said.
The entrepreneurs, however, urged the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) to control illegal location of gas stations and mini outlets without license and safety facilities to curtail fire outbreak.
