The Nigerian Government has launched Nigeria’s first state-level Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) cylinder distribution programme in Bayelsa State, marking a major milestone in the country’s transition to cleaner cooking energy, improved public health and environmental sustainability under the Decade of Gas Initiative.
The programme, following pilot rollouts across the six geopolitical zones, signals the commencement of a nationwide state-by-state implementation aimed at transitioning five million Nigerian households to clean cooking gas by 2030, with Bayelsa serving as the pilot state.
Speaking at the launch, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Obongemem Ekperikpe Ekpo, described the initiative as “a landmark moment in our collective journey towards cleaner energy, healthier homes and a more prosperous nation.”
Ekpo said the programme demonstrates the Federal Government’s commitment to ensuring that Nigeria’s abundant natural gas resources translate into tangible benefits for citizens.
“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,” he stated.
The minister noted 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. He announced that 27,000 households in Bayelsa would benefit from the programme, with the Federal Government committing to refill beneficiaries’ cylinders six times to encourage sustained adoption.
Addressing affordability, Ekpo said government interventions had contributed to lowering cooking gas prices.
“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,” he said.
Bayelsa State Governor Douye Diri welcomed the initiative, describing it as a significant intervention that would improve livelihoods while tackling environmental degradation and health risks associated with firewood use.
He commended President Bola Tinubu for the LPG penetration programme, saying it would reduce deforestation, improve public health and ensure that communities producing the nation’s oil and gas resources benefit directly from cleaner energy initiatives. Diri also urged residents to embrace clean cooking energy and appealed to multinational oil companies to increase investment in host communities.
Representing the Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Hajiya Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, the Special Assistant to the President on Women Affairs, Fatima Farouk, described clean cooking as both a health and gender development priority.
Farouk noted that the ministry’s Nigeria for Women Programme, comprising over 500,000 women organised into more than 26,000 savings and enterprise groups, would support grassroots distribution and sensitisation.
“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, the Coordinating Director of the Decade of Gas Secretariat, Ed Ubong, 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 said the technology-driven distribution model would ensure accountability through coded cylinders and accessible refill points.
“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…” she explained.
Also speaking, Chairman of the Bayelsa State Traditional Rulers Council, King Bubaraye Dakolo, urged planners to address transportation challenges in riverine communities to guarantee the programme’s long-term sustainability and accessibility.
An elated beneficiary, Adomokeme Gesitari,said: “I want to use this medium to say thank you to the Federal Government, thank you to the State Government, and 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.”
The Bayelsa rollout reinforces Nigeria’s commitment to expanding clean energy access, empowering women, protecting public health, creating green jobs and reducing environmental degradation nationwide.
