Cooking gas programme to reach 10m homes — FG

FILE: Cooking gas cylinders

The Federal Government has said its National Grassroots LPG (cooking gas) Penetration Programme will reach more than 10 million Nigerian homes by 2060 as it expands the nationwide clean cooking initiative.

The programme, implemented through the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources (Gas) and the Decade of Gas Initiative, was launched in Akwa Ibom State on Thursday, making the state the second stop in the nationwide state-by-state rollout after Bayelsa State.

Speaking at the launch, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, said the programme would target one million households annually, five million homes by 2030 and more than 10 million homes by 2060.

In a statement on Friday, Ekpo called on governments, regulators, industry players, financial institutions, development partners, traditional institutions, communities and the media to collaborate in ensuring its sustainability and nationwide impact.

The minister described the intervention as a practical expression of President Bola Tinubu’s vision that Nigeria’s gas resources should deliver tangible benefits through healthier homes, empowered women, job creation, stronger local economies and shared prosperity.

Earlier, the Coordinating Director of the Decade of Gas Initiative, Ed Ubong, said 27,000 filled LPG cylinders would be distributed to women across Akwa Ibom State. He explained that the intervention would be rolled out across all 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory.

The Decade of Gas NGLPP Programme Lead, Ramatu Abdullahi, said the current state-by-state phase introduced a more sustainable Depot–Hub–Node cylinder exchange model, with refill points targeted within one to two kilometres of communities.

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She said beneficiaries would receive up to six free refills, supported by a digital platform that tracks cylinders, refills and household adoption.

Representing the Chief Executive of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, Rabiu Umar, the Executive Director, Hydrocarbon Processing Plants, Installations and Transportation Infrastructure, Francis Ogaree, commended the initiative.

He highlighted the cylinder recirculation model, six refill support and barcode-enabled monitoring as key to the programme’s sustainability. Ogaree noted that the target of one million households annually and five million by 2030 supported Nigeria’s goal of increasing domestic LPG consumption to five million metric tonnes annually by 2030.

Akwa Ibom State Governor, Umo Eno, commended the Federal Government and the minister for bringing the programme to the state, describing the intervention as one that goes beyond distributing cylinders to improving lives, protecting the environment and creating economic opportunities for 27,000 households.

He said Akwa Ibom was positioning itself as a destination for gas-based investment and downstream utilisation, highlighting opportunities in LPG bottling plants, cylinder manufacturing and maintenance, gas storage, transportation and logistics, gas processing and other energy infrastructure.

The minister also launched the Rural Women Empowerment Initiative for Entrepreneurship Development, under which 3,000 women would each receive N100,000, representing N300m in direct support to strengthen businesses, agriculture, household incomes and rural economic activity.

Following the launches in Bayelsa and Akwa Ibom, the Decade of Gas Initiative said it would continue the nationwide state-by-state rollout of the programme, with the next participating state to be announced soon.