FG to Open Micro Gas Distribution Ports.
The Minister of State for Petroleum, Timipre Sylva, has said the Federal Government is working on opening micro gas distribution ports in all local governments’ areas.
Sylva revealed this at the weekend in Abuja during the Nigerian Women’s inauguration for Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) project, organised by the National Centre for Women’s Development NCWD Zigma Gas Limited and Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources.
The Petroleum Minister, who his Senior Special Assistant represented on LPG, Brenda Ataga, stated that it is healthy using gas than firewood as fuel for cooking as it is a clean energy source.
She noted that: “The ministry is targeting to alleviate the energy challenge in Nigeria, and clean cooking gas is vital in this regard because 70 per cent greenhouse emissions are caused by deforestation.
“This LPG project will enable us to empower rural women to use a more cleaner energy source for cooking,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Director-General, NCWD, Mary Ekpere-Eta, also revealed that 99 million women across households in all the LGAs would receive from the project within the next three years.
“This partnership will benefit Nigerian women and youths as it will support the efforts of the Federal Government in achieving its 2023 sustainable energy targets.
“The project is targeted at reaching 99 million women and households within three years cutting across the 120,000 polling units and all wards in the 774 LGAs in the federation,” she said.
Explore-Eta noted further that the centre would carry out a massive door-to-door campaign on the project, adding that the centre would create kiosk in all LGAs, which will serve as micro-distribution centres for safe-to-use LPG cans.
“The first phase of this project will be targeting 11 states – Katsina, Sokoto, FCT, Ebonyi, Plateau, Adamawa, Borno, Bayelsa, Cross River, Imo and Ogun,” She added.
On her part, the United Nations Humanitarian and Resident Coordinator, Mr Edward Kallon, noted that the LPG project is an opportunity for Nigerian women to impact the oil and gas industry.
Kallon, therefore, urged the government and relevant stakeholders to ensure non-discriminatory employment practices, increase access to capacity building and engage women in community consultation and decisions to build active participation in the sector.
