By Faridat Salifu
The Minister of State for the Environment, Dr. Iziaq Adekunle Salako, has disclosed that the Federal Government is ready to provide access to cooking gas for 28.8 million households.
In addition, the minister said the government will provide an improved biomass cook-stoves for 7.3 million households by 2030.
Salako made this known on Thursday when he was giving his opening address before participants at the National Clean Cooking Fair held at the Abuja Inter-Continental Hotel.
The event, supported by the European Union, brought together stakeholders committed to advancing cleaner and more sustainable cooking technologies.
According to the minister, this intervention is expected to save over 30,000 lives annually, create jobs, reduce deforestation, and support the government’s climate commitments.
He said to achieve these targets, the Federal Ministry of Environment has developed a National Clean Cooking Policy, recently approved by the Federal Executive Council.
According to him the Ministry has constituted a National Implementation Committee to drive the process and develop a comprehensive Implementation Plan and Monitoring and Evaluation Framework for the Policy.”
The minister outlined the expected benefits of the National Clean Cooking Policy, including improved public health, environmental sustainability, enhanced energy access and affordability, and gender equality and empowerment for economic development.
The policy is also anticipated to drive investments into the clean cooking sector, supporting job creation.
The minister underscored the urgency of transitioning to clean cooking, calling it a matter of public health, fundamental human rights, and essential for sustainable development.
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He noted that cleaner cooking technologies could improve air quality, protect public health, and mitigate climate change impacts.
On the old practice of open fire cooking, he said the practice is a major contributor to lung and heart diseases, vision impairment, low birth weight, and burns.
He urged Nigerians to embrace cleaner cooking technologies which improves air quality, protect public health, and mitigate climate change impacts.
Highlighting severe health and environmental impacts of traditional open fire cooking, he said open fire cooking causes over 77,000 deaths annually in Nigeria adding that this practice is a major contributor to lung and heart diseases, vision impairment, low birth weight, and burns.
In addition, the minister noted that the old practice of gathering firewood for cooking usually exposes women and girls to gender-based violence, snake bites, and other physical injuries.
His words: “Traditional open fire cooking is a silent killer,” It is a major driver of deforestation, contributing to the loss of nearly 400,000 hectares of forests annually, and significantly adds to Nigeria’s greenhouse gas emissions.”
Dr. Salako called on all participants to leverage the fair to showcase innovative solutions, share best practices, and forge partnerships.
He stressed the importance of ensuring that clean cooking technologies are available, accessible, and affordable to all Nigerians.
“I urge all participants to seize this opportunity to network, learn from experts, and explore innovative solutions that can drive positive change in Nigeria and beyond,” he said adding that cooking is an essential activity that must be made safe, efficient, pleasant, and pleasurable.
He expressed his gratitude to the European Union for their support and to all participants for their dedication to clean cooking.
He called for a collective effort to create a cleaner, more sustainable future for Nigeria.
