The Federal Government on Monday endorsed and commended the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Limited for its decision to suspend the export of Liquefied Petroleum Gas, popularly called cooking gas, while approving 100 per cent domestic supply of the product.
The Minister of State for the Environment, Chief Sharon Ikeazor, said the initiative was a welcome development and a step in the right direction that would not only bring down the price of the commodity but also bring relief to Nigeria’s forests and ecosystem.
She was quoted in a statement issued in Abuja by the Director of Press at the Federal Ministry of Environment, Saghir el Mohammed, as saying “The NLNG should be commended for its sensitivity and responsiveness to the plight of Nigerians.
“For us in the environment sector, this singular decision will not only help in restoring our forests and in addressing some of our climate challenges but also facilitate the attainment of our Nationally Determined Contribution and other aspects of the Paris Agreement.”
Ikeazor recalled that shortly after the increase in the prices of cooking gas across the country, millions of Nigerians could no longer afford the commodity and consequently resorted to firewood and charcoal as alternatives.
“The unhealthy development has been so severe on the forest ecosystem that the reserves and even trees outside the forests were not spared,” she stated.
The minister expressed regrets that cutting the country’s forests for firewood and charcoal had been a major cause of deforestation and other climate change challenges.
She lamented that wood and charcoal smokes had been contributing to air pollution and other pollutants that produced greenhouse gases.
Ikeazor said, “We in the environment sector strongly support and believe that by making gas available and affordable, being the cleanest of the fossil fuels, Nigeria is now set towards cutting down on its carbon emissions drastically.
“This will play a prominent role during the current energy transition period.”
The NLNG recently announced the suspension of LPG exports from its facility in Bonny, Rivers State, and stated that it would henceforth supply 100 per cent of the commodity into the Nigerian market.
