Senate urges use of clean energy in homes

The Senate has charged Nigerians on the use of clean energy for household cooking to protect the environment from the negative effects of global warming.

He made the declaration while hosting the members of the Nigerian Alliance for Clean Cook stoves who paid him a courtesy call.Saraki assured who assured of the commitment of the National Assembly to step up actions to expand access to clean cooking, noted that apart from saving lives, the use of clean cook stoves would also help to create jobs for our people

He said, “As the Senate, we shall step up actions to expand access to clean cooking. It is a fact that apart from saving lives, the use of clean cook stoves would also help to create jobs for our people. We are particularly happy that the Nigerian Alliance for Clean Cook stoves is focusing on made in Nigeria cooking solutions”, he said.

The Senate President promised to work with his colleagues in the Senate to explore opportunities to use legislation to expand access to clean cooking energy in the country adding that the parliament will work to promote made in Nigeria clean cooking products.

He urged the Chairman, Senate Committee on Environment, Senator Oluremi Tinubu to sit with the Nigerian Alliance for Clean Cook stoves to determine the kind of actions the Senate can take to support the important goals of the Alliance.

The National Coordinator of the Nigerian Alliance for Clean Cook stoves, Mr. Ewah Otu Eleri told the audience that over 95,000 Nigerians, mostly women and children, die annually as a result of smoke from the kitchen.

According to Eleri, “smoke from the kitchen is the highest killer of Nigerians, after malaria and HIV/AIDS. Cooking should not kill”. He urged the Senate President to support the goal of ten million clean solutions “Nigeria has all it takes to achieve universal access to clean cooking. Our country is one of the world’s largest producers and exporter of cooking gas, known as LPG. Despite that, only about five percent of households in our country use cooking gas”, Mr. Eleri said.

Mr. Daniel Isiocha, a manager with a leading LPG company, Techno Oil Limited, said his company is currently constructing a cylinder manufacturing plant in Lagos and has just commissioned the building of a gas terminal.

He lamented that the switching cost to LPG is very expensive and urged the Senate President to support the use of current spending on kerosene subsidies for LPG. According to Mr. Isiocha, this will lower the cost of LPG and ensure more Nigerians have access to clean cooking fuel that is produced locally.

The Managing Director of Musa Raymond Nigeria Limited, Mr. Musa Raymond told the audience that he produces about half a million clean cooking stoves annually.

“With better access to finance and stronger demand, especially from government-owned facilities such as schools and prisons, my company can produce millions of stoves and employ more Nigerians”, he to the Senate President. According to him, access to finance is the biggest challenge.

Addressing the Senate President, Adako Kwanashie, a clean cook stoves entrepreneur based in Kaduna State told the story of his small stove producing company. “I employ five local artisans, mostly potters and metal workers. If the government had facilitated more demand for our products, for instance through an awareness campaign, we will sell more stoves and can employ up to one hundred young people”.

He told the Senate President that small clean cooking businesses require a supportive policy environment to expand the market for cleaning cooking in the country.