*The Federal Government activates its much expected national ‘Decade of Gas’ initiative with a state-by-state implementation starting with Bayelsa as the pilot state, towards transitioning five million Nigerian households by gas to ‘cleaner energy, healthier homes and a more prosperous country’ by 2030
Gbenga Kayode | ConsumerConnect
The Nigerian Government has launched its first state-level Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) cylinder distribution programme in Bayelsa State, South-South region.
The development is said to have marked a major milestone in the much-expected transition to cleaner cooking energy, improved public health and environmental sustainability under the country’s “Decade of Gas” Initiative.
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ConsumerConnect reports the nationwide gas initiative, following the ongoing pilot rollouts across the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria, indicates the commencement of a state-by-state implementation aimed at transitioning five million Nigerian households to clean cooking gas by 2030, with Bayelsa serving as the pilot state.
It is noted that the Bayelsa rollout reinforces the West African country’s commitment to expanding clean energy access, empowering women, protecting public health, creating green jobs while reducing environmental degradation nationwide.
Minister: Launch is a landmark moment for cleaner energy, healthier homes
Speaking at the launch in Bayelsa, Obongemem Ekperikpe Ekpo, Honourable Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), described the transition to gas initiative as “a landmark moment in our collective journey towards cleaner energy, healthier homes and a more prosperous nation.”
Ekpo said the programme demonstrated the Federal Government’s commitment to ensuring that Nigeria’s abundant natural gas resources translate into tangible benefits for energy consumers.
He also stated: “No mother should be compelled to choose between feeding her family and protecting her health.
“No child should inhale harmful smoke because cleaner energy remains beyond reach.
“No family should spend valuable hours searching for firewood when our nation is richly endowed with gas resources.”
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The Minister emphasised that Nigeria’s over 215 trillion cubic feet of proven gas reserves provide a solid foundation for expanding access to clean energy while reducing dependence on firewood and charcoal.
Ekpo equally announced that 27,000 households in Bayelsa State would benefit from the programme.
The Federal Government is also committed to refilling the beneficiaries’ LPG cylinders six times to encourage sustained adoption across the state.
Commenting on affordability of cooking gas by millions of consumers, Ekpo reportedly said government interventions had contributed to lowering cooking gas prices.
The Minister noted: “We said we are serving Nigerians; we are not serving foreigners.
“If you have ever produced LPG and export, enough is enough.
“That is why you observe the crash in the price coming down.”
Speaking at the formal launch of the first state-level Liquefied Petroleum Gas cylinder distribution programme, Governor Douye Diri of Bayelsa State welcomed the initiative.
Diri described the clean cooking initiative as a significant intervention that would improve livelihoods while tackling environmental degradation, and health risks associated with firewood use in the West African country.
The governor also commended President Bola Tinubu for the LPG penetration programme.
The programme will reduce deforestation, improve public health and ensure that communities producing Nigeria’s oil and gas resources benefit directly from cleaner energy initiatives, said he.
Diri further urged residents to embrace clean cooking energy.
He as well appealed to multinational oil companies to increase investment in host communities in Nigeria.
Hajiya Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, Special Assistant to the President on Women Affairs and Social Development, who represented Fatima Farouk, Honourable Minister for Women Affairs and Social Development, described clean cooking as both a health and gender development priority.
Farouk disclosed the Ministry’s Nigeria for Women Programme, comprising over 500,000 women organised into over 26,000 savings and enterprise groups, would support grassroots distribution and sensitisation on the initiative.
She also stated: “When we hand a woman a clean cylinder of gas, we are therefore, not only protecting her lungs, we are handing her back her time and, with it, her opportunity.
“We are deliberately opening the doors of this very industry, so they are not merely consumers of gas but owners of the businesses along its value chain,”
Earlier, Ed Ubong, Coordinating Director of the Decade of Gas Secretariat, had said: “One of the key pillars we want to do is to ensure that between now and 2030, five million homes move to using cooking gas.”
Implementation Lead Ramatu Abdullahi also said the technology-driven distribution model would ensure accountability through coded cylinders and accessible refill points.
Abdullahi noted: “The cylinders are tagged, so we know which household has which cylinder.
“We’re able to track adoption. If a family is not coming back for refill, we can knock on your door….”
Adomokeme Gesitari, one of the excited beneficiaries of the clean cooking initiative in Bayelsa State, said: “I want to use this medium to say thank you to the Federal Government, thank you to the State Government.
“I also want to thank the Governor of Bayelsa State, Douye Diri, for welcoming this idea, and using this as a method to improve the cooking activity by women.”