The Federal Government, of Nigeria, FGN through the Ministry of Petroleum Resources (Gas), and private sector players have donated 1,000 cooking gas cylinders to residents of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Abuja.
According to report, the beneficiaries of the cylinders are the low-income households in the six Councils Areas of the FCT.
This was disclosed by the Minister of State for Petroleum (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo.
Speaking at the Apo Resettlement in Abuja on Tuesday, Ekpo stated that the distribution of the cylinders marked the inaugural LPG Penetration Programme and the LPG Bottle Distribution as part of the Clean Cooking Initiative of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu
He said, ‘This event is an ideal fit for the President’s theme: ‘From Gas to Prosperity: Renewed Hope’.
The Minister stated that the initiative is President Tinubu’s determination to increase domestic gas use in the country.
He said, “We’re not only introducing a programme today. We’re on a mission to change millions of Nigerians’ lives in our six geographical zones. By 2030, we want to convert 250,000 houses a year to clean cooking gas, which is a lofty but attainable target.”
Ekpo noted that it was impossible to overestimate the negative consequences of utilizing conventional fuels. He added that their contribution to deforestation, environmental degradation and harmful health impacts from indoor air pollution was substantial.
The Minister of Women Affairs, Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye, thanked President Tinubu and Ekpo for the distribution initiative. She said women were the worst affected from the hazards of the use of charcoal and firewood as cooking fuels.
In his speech, the Minister of Youths, Dr. Jamila Bio Ibrahim, described the event as a ground-breaking initiative. He stated that it would impact millions of Nigerians who used firewood, charcoal and kerosene.
She, however, stated that there were lots of job creation opportunities along the LPG value chain. The Minister also expressed delight with the the Gas to Prosperity programme.
In his remark, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum, Ambassador Nicholas Agbo Ella, praised the initiative. He, however, noted that the challenges were enormous but surmountable.
The Perm Sec urged the beneficiaries to deploy the usage with safety in mind. This he said, is in order not to endanger their families.
The Coordinator of the Decade of Gas, Ed Ubong, expressed delight at the programme. He said, “We are targeting mainly women, and that informs our location of distribution.
According to him, “Cooking gas is cleaner, and we have an enormous gas resource. So, we are partnering with the private sector to deploy about 250,000 every year.
source: Daily Trust
Follow us on our WhatsApp News Channels @
https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaC505jB4hdZ5Yx9g82U
