Some residents of Bwari Area Council of the FCT on Monday said they stopped using kerosene as alternative means of cooking because of its persistent high cost.

The residents spoke in separate interviews in Abuja.

Hannatu Baya, a student, said that kerosene was too expensive and out of the reach of ordinary Nigerians, adding that the product was often unavailable for people to buy.

She said, ”I have a 5kg gas cylinder that takes me almost a month before refilling, and this is because I alternate with an electric cooker once there’s power, it is better for me than a kerosene stove.”

Charity Okonkwo, who sells charcoal and firewood, said she once sold kerosene but stopped after the product became too expensive.

Also, she claimed the product was often unavailable and was purchased at a higher cost.

“After a while, people started to use charcoal, which does not need much kerosene to light up, so the demand for the product from my customers dropped.

“That was how I changed to selling charcoal and firewood, and the patronage has been better,” she said.

She also said that kerosene presently costs about N1,180 per litre at the filling stations and is being sold by retailers in the community from N1,250 to N1,500 per litre.

Meanwhile, Grace Ishaya, a housewife and mother of five, said she stopped cooking with kerosene for over four years after one of her children accidentally inhaled the emissions from the cooking stove while sleeping.

“Since then, I prefer to use cooking gas and charcoal, even though they both are expensive, we manage to buy according to our means,” Mrs Ishaya said.

(NAN)