Yemisi Izuora
Experts have renewed call for investment in the Liquefied Petroleum Gas (Cooking Gas) to replace traditional cooking fuels considered injurious to human health.
According to worlds fore-most authority on air-pollution, and a professor at the University of California, Berkley, Dr. Kirk Smith
premature death caused by dirty fuel in Nigeria is about 70, 000 in one year,.
Also the Nigeria Liquefied Petroleum Gas Association (NLPGA), has intensified its campaign urging the federal government to provide the necessary framework that will facilitate use of LPG as alternative cooking fuel.
Government had budgeted over N45 billion to subsidise kerosene, one of the most dreaded dirty fuels, in the 2015 budget alone.
President of NLPGA, Dayo Adesina, while speaking at the Associations fifth annual gas conference re-affirmed the determination of the body to support government’s actions to encourage LPG usage nationwide.
He also cautioned against spending on subsidy on kerosene products in place of giving priority to cheaper, cleaner and safer alternatives.
NLPGA, he said, would continue to advocate investments to boost LPG beyond the present investments figure.
Dr. Smith, in the same vein, maintained that dirty fuel like kerosene and firewood will kill more if nothing is done to encourage cleaner fuel like as alternative fuel for cooking, powering machines, fuelling vehicles among others.
Delivering a paper entitled: “LPG and the health of the World’s Poor,” Dr. Smith said: “When firewood is used to cook it produces 400 cigarette per hour.”
Other stakeholders at the conference also bemoaned Nigeria’s per capita LPG consumption for being the lowest in sub-Saharan Africa.
They expressed dissatisfaction with under-utilisation of the product, advocating boost to the about multi-billion dollars LPG investments in the country.
“The per capita consumption of Liquefied Natural Gas (LPG) also known as cooking gas in Nigeria is the lowest in Sub-Saharan Africa,” Nuhu Yakubu, NLPGA deputy President said.
“Nigeria is the second largest producer of LPG in Africa and the sixth largest producer in the World. We produce over 4 million tonnes of LPG per annum and have the capacity to consume as much,” he said.
“In addition, we flare an additional 1-2 million tonnes of LPG inland. Ironically, Nigeria also has the lowest per capita consumption of LPG in sub-Saharan Africa at 0.8kg per annum. Consumption in 2014 was 350, 000 tonnes,” he added.