By Benson Daniel
The Federal Government has intensified its clean cooking campaign with the launch of the National Grassroots LPG Penetration Programme in Akwa Ibom State, with 27,000 filled liquefied petroleum gas cylinders allocated to verified beneficiaries across the state.
The activation, held in Uyo, makes Akwa Ibom the second state to participate in the nationwide rollout of the programme after Bayelsa State. The initiative is being implemented through the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources (Gas) and the Decade of Gas Initiative as part of efforts to expand access to cleaner cooking energy.
Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, said the programme was designed to encourage Nigerian households to move away from firewood, charcoal, kerosene and other traditional cooking fuels to LPG, which is considered cleaner and more efficient.
The Federal Government is targeting one million households annually through the programme, with the broader objective of reaching five million homes by 2030 and more than 10 million households by 2060.
The 27,000 cylinders allocated to Akwa Ibom are expected to be distributed to women and other verified beneficiaries across the state. Beneficiaries will also be entitled to as many as six free refills within one year, a provision intended to encourage continued use of LPG rather than making the intervention a one time cylinder distribution exercise.
The programme also introduces a Depot Hub Node cylinder exchange model designed to bring LPG refill points closer to beneficiary communities. Under the arrangement, refill points are expected to be located within one to two kilometres of participating communities, making access to cooking gas more convenient.
A digital monitoring platform will also be used to track cylinders, refills and household adoption, while barcode enabled monitoring is expected to strengthen accountability and improve the management of the cylinder recirculation system.
The government has linked the initiative to its broader Decade of Gas agenda, which seeks to increase domestic utilisation of Nigeria’s abundant natural gas resources and expand the role of gas in the country’s energy mix.
Officials said the programme could also support Nigeria’s target of increasing domestic LPG consumption to five million metric tonnes annually by 2030.
Beyond its energy implications, the initiative is expected to deliver health, environmental and economic benefits. Greater use of LPG could reduce household dependence on firewood and charcoal, while also creating opportunities across the LPG value chain, including cylinder manufacturing, maintenance, storage, transportation, logistics and distribution.
Akwa Ibom Governor Umo Eno welcomed the programme and said the state was positioning itself to attract investments in gas based businesses and infrastructure.
The state government identified opportunities in LPG bottling plants, cylinder manufacturing and maintenance, gas storage, transportation, logistics and gas processing.
The Federal Government also launched a Rural Women Empowerment Initiative for Entrepreneurship Development alongside the LPG programme. Under the initiative, 3,000 women are to receive N100,000 each, representing N300 million in direct financial support for businesses, agriculture and other income generating activities.
The combination of clean cooking access and women focused economic support is expected to strengthen household welfare while creating opportunities for rural entrepreneurship.
For Nigeria, the expansion of LPG access comes as the government seeks to reduce dependence on traditional cooking fuels and promote greater utilisation of domestic gas resources.
The state by state rollout is expected to continue across the country, with the Federal Government aiming to make clean cooking energy more accessible to millions of households while building a stronger domestic LPG market.
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