Nigeria’s Minister of State, Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, has yesterday, flagged-off the Decade of Gas Grassroots LPG Penetration Programme in Abuja. He called on stakeholders in the gas sector to work towards achieving the Federal Government’s goal of having inexpensive, safe, and clean cooking energy available to every household in Nigeria.
The minister in a statement by his spokesman, Louis Ibah, said the free LPG cylinder distribution scheme would continue in different states in the six geopolitical zones of the country. Describing the outreach as a proof of President Bola Tinubu’s steadfast dedication to lessening the suffering of Nigerians from using firewood, kerosene and charcoal as cooking fuel for homes, to a cleaner and safer energy source-gas.
“The goal of this effort is to improve women’s inclusion and provide employment opportunities for our youth. Transitioning to clean cooking will be especially beneficial for women, who are disproportionately affected by the health hazard of traditional cooking methods,” he said.
On his part, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Ambassador Nicholas Agbo-Ella, described the commencement of the initiative as a significant move in the transition from the use of firewood and kerosene stoves as cooking fuel for homes to the use of LPG.
The Decade of Gas Grassroots LPG Penetration Programme is aimed towards the conversion of 250,000 households yearly to liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) by 2030, providing a cleaner and more efficient cooking fuel.
