FG to commence nationwide sensitization on LPG adoption, expansion
…Set to establish micro sales, distribution centres
The Federal Government has reiterated its plans to inject 10 million cylinders of Petroleum Liquefied Gas into circulation nationwide to increase access to the commodity.
The distribution of these cylinders, which is to help deepen cooking gas utilization across the country, would be done through registered marketers.
This was made known by the Managing Director of the Nigeria LPG, Alhaji Musa Ibrahim, during a 2-day sensitization workshop in Bauchi on Tuesday.
Where he said that the federal government would establish micro sales and distribution centres for the cylinders.
Ibrahim said, “The price of the safe cylinders is affordable as the LPG is capable of improving economic activities of the end-users.”
The Programme Manager, National LPG Expansion Implementation Plan and Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President on LPG, Mr Dayo Adeshina, urged the people of the state to embrace the use of the LPG in their households.
Adeshina explained that the federal government is considering the possibility of increasing access to the commodity by reducing the high cost of the LPG to expand affordability.
He said the use of cooking gas would reduce instances of deforestation, desertification and soil erosion which contribute seriously to environmental hazards.
He said, “We had since begun the programme in some of the 12 pilot states.”
Adeshina said the 12 pilot states were Bauchi, Lagos, Ebonyi, Gombe, Katsina, Sokoto and Enugu. Others are Bayelsa, Delta, FCT Abuja, Ogun and Niger states, stressing we would soon commence the programme.
Going further, he revealed that all the 36 states were expected to be covered within 3 years at the rate of 12 states per year, noting that government will engage investors and marketers for effective implementation.
He said conventional media, social media, traditional rulers and community leaders would be fully engaged in the campaign to achieve wider and more effective coverage.
Speaking at the event, the Governor of Bauchi State, Bala Mohammed, who was represented by his deputy, Senator Baba Tela, called on the national LPG office to develop a means or device to use gas for firing automobiles to reduce carbon emissions will be introduced.
He explained that many Nigerians are ignorant of the potential of the LPG, stressing that citizens need to be adequately aware of the potentials of the product.
Adeshina, had last year, said the National LPG Expansion Implementation Plan, domiciled in the Office of the Vice President, was committed to achieving Nigeria’s target of 5 million Metric Tonnes of LPG consumption annually by 2027.
He pointed out that apart from household consumption, the government was trying to increase LPG usage in agriculture, transportation and manufacturing adding that this will enable the country to reduce Carbon dioxide emission by about 20% and create millions of jobs for Nigerians.
The federal government had in November initiated necessary steps to bring down the cost of cooking gas across the country as it was worried about the situation.
