By Solomon OKPO|UyoPhoto caption
FG Decade of Gas Grassroots LPG Drive Gains Momentum with Uyo Launch
from Left: Minister of Youth Development Representative- Mrs. Leah Tolulope Akinfiresoye, the Honourable Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Hon. Ekperikpe Ekpo,the executive governor of Akwa Ibom State Pastor Umo Eno, Dr. (Mrs.) Ekaette Unoma Godswill Akpabio, Deputy Governor ,Senator Dr. Akon Eyakenyi, Lady Helen Eno Obareki Coordinator, Office of the First Lady of Akwa Ibom State and Co-ordinating Director of the Decade of Gas Initiative, Mr. Ed Ubong as the Federal Government through the Decade of Gas Initiative flags off the Grassroots LPG Programme (NGLPP) in Akwa Ibom State.
The Federal Government has intensified its drive to expand access to clean cooking energy as Akwa Ibom State became the second state to benefit from the nationwide rollout of the National Grassroots Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) Penetration Programme (NGLPP), following its launch in Bayelsa State.
The programme, implemented through the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources (Gas) and the Decade of Gas Initiative, is part of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s agenda to promote domestic gas utilisation, improve household access to cleaner cooking fuel and empower Nigerians at the grassroots. It targets one million households annually and five million households by 2030, with a long-term ambition of reaching more than 10 million homes by 2060.
Speaking at the Akwa Ibom launch, the Coordinating Director of the Decade of Gas Initiative, Mr. Ed Ubong, described the state as strategically important to Nigeria’s oil and gas industry, given its substantial crude oil production and natural gas reserves.
Ubong commended the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Rt. Hon. Ekperikpe Ekpo, for his leadership in advancing gas development and disclosed that 27,000 filled LPG cylinders would be distributed to beneficiaries across Akwa Ibom State. He said the intervention would subsequently be extended to all 36 states of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory.
The Decade of Gas NGLPP Programme Lead, Ramatu Abdullahi, said the latest phase of the programme had introduced a more sustainable
Depot-Hub-Node cylinder exchange model designed to bring LPG refill points within one to two kilometres of beneficiary communities. She explained that beneficiaries would receive up to six free refills within one year, while a digital platform would be used to track cylinders, refills and household adoption.
Also speaking, the Executive Director, Hydrocarbon Processing Plants, Installations and Transportation Infrastructure of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Engr. Francis Alabo Ogaree, representing the Authority’s Chief Executive, commended the Federal Government for designing the programme around long-term LPG adoption.
Ogaree identified the cylinder recirculation system, six-refill support and barcode-enabled monitoring as key features that would enhance the sustainability and transparency of the intervention. He added that the programme’s target of one million households annually aligns with Nigeria’s ambition to raise domestic LPG consumption to five million metric tonnes annually by 2030.
Formally launching the programme, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Rt. Hon. Ekperikpe Ekpo, commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for placing women’s empowerment, grassroots prosperity and domestic gas utilisation at the centre of the Renewed Hope Agenda.
The Minister also acknowledged the leadership of the President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, and commended Akwa Ibom State Governor, Pastor Umo Eno, for his people-oriented approach to peace and development.
Ekpo simultaneously launched the Akwa Ibom activation of the NGLPP and the Rural Women Empowerment Initiative for Entrepreneurship Development, under which 3,000 women will each receive ₦100,000, amounting to ₦300 million in direct support for businesses, agriculture, household incomes and rural economic activities.
According to the Minister, the NGLPP is designed to deliver more than cooking cylinders, describing it as a practical expression of the Federal Government’s vision of transforming Nigeria’s abundant gas resources into tangible benefits through healthier homes, women’s empowerment, job creation and stronger local economies.
He called for sustained collaboration among federal and state governments, regulators, oil and gas companies, financial institutions, development partners, traditional institutions, communities and the media to ensure the programme achieves its nationwide objectives.
Governor Umo Eno, in his remarks, welcomed the Federal Government’s decision to bring the programme to Akwa Ibom, describing the intervention as one capable of improving livelihoods, protecting the environment and creating economic opportunities for 27,000 households in the state.
The Governor further disclosed that Akwa Ibom was positioning itself as a destination for gas-based investments, highlighting opportunities in LPG bottling, cylinder manufacturing and maintenance, gas storage, transportation and logistics, gas processing and other energy infrastructure.
He reaffirmed the state government’s commitment to creating an enabling environment for investors, entrepreneurs and businesses that would drive grassroots economic development through the utilisation of the state’s gas resources.
The representative of the Minister of Youth Development, Comrade Ayodele Olawande, Mrs. Leah Tolulope Akinfiresoye, also commended the Decade of Gas team for extending the initiative to Akwa Ibom, noting that increased access to LPG could empower women and youths, create green jobs and stimulate entrepreneurship.
The event featured beneficiary sensitisation on LPG safety, the flag-off of cylinder distribution and the launch of the rural women empowerment initiative. It attracted government officials, industry stakeholders, traditional rulers, women and youth groups, development partners and beneficiaries from across the state.
With Bayelsa and Akwa Ibom now covered, the Decade of Gas Initiative is expected to continue its state-by-state rollout of the NGLPP, taking the Federal Government’s clean cooking campaign closer to its target of five million Nigerian households by 2030.
