The Federal Government has unveiled an ambitious plan to take cooking gas to more than 10 million Nigerian homes by 2060 under its National Grassroots LPG Penetration Programme.
The nationwide clean-cooking drive, being implemented by the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources (Gas) in partnership with the Decade of Gas Initiative, reached Akwa Ibom State on Thursday, following its launch in Bayelsa State.
Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, said the programme would target one million households every year, with five million homes expected to benefit by 2030 and more than 10 million by 2060.
Ekpo urged governments, regulators, businesses, financial institutions, development partners, traditional rulers, communities and the media to join forces to ensure the programme succeeds across the country.
He said the initiative was designed to turn Nigeria’s abundant gas resources into direct benefits for ordinary Nigerians through healthier homes, women’s empowerment, job creation, stronger local economies and improved living standards.
At the Akwa Ibom launch, Coordinating Director of the Decade of Gas Initiative, Ed Ubong, announced that 27,000 filled LPG cylinders would be distributed to women in the state.
Ubong said the scheme would eventually cover all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
The programme’s lead, Ramatu Abdullahi, disclosed that the latest phase would operate a Depot–Hub–Node cylinder exchange system designed to make refilling easier, with refill points located within one to two kilometres of beneficiary communities.
She added that beneficiaries would receive up to six free refills, while a digital platform would be used to monitor cylinders, refills and household adoption.
Representing the Chief Executive of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, Executive Director, Hydrocarbon Processing Plants, Installations and Transportation Infrastructure, Francis Ogaree, described the cylinder recirculation system, free refills and barcode tracking as important measures for keeping the scheme sustainable.
He said the target of one million households annually and five million by 2030 was also in line with Nigeria’s ambition to raise domestic LPG consumption to five million metric tonnes yearly by 2030.
Akwa Ibom State Governor, Umo Eno, welcomed the intervention, saying it was about more than simply distributing gas cylinders.
According to him, the programme would improve living conditions, protect the environment and create economic opportunities for thousands of households.
Eno also said Akwa Ibom was positioning itself as a major destination for gas-related investments, including LPG bottling, cylinder manufacturing and maintenance, gas storage, transportation, logistics, processing and other energy infrastructure.
The minister also unveiled the Rural Women Empowerment Initiative for Entrepreneurship Development, through which 3,000 women will receive N100,000 each, amounting to N300 million in direct financial support.
The money is expected to boost small businesses, agriculture, household income and economic activities in rural communities.
Following the launches in Bayelsa and Akwa Ibom, the Decade of Gas Initiative said the grassroots LPG programme would continue its state-by-state rollout, with the next beneficiary state to be announced soon.
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