The
Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola on Tuesday launched the
Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) Cylinder initiative for clean and green
environment in Lagos State, saying it is a step towards taking the
people away from the old fashioned and harmful ways of cooking with
firewood and charcoal.
The Governor who spoke at the Masha Roundabout venue of the first
skid- mounted LPG Plant said with this latest initiative, Lagos state
has demonstrated that cooking gas is no longer the preserve of the rich
alone.
“Our support for this initiative is reflected in the State
Government’s intervention of providing some financial assistance in
reducing the initial cost of specific cylinder sizes to our citizens,
particularly those in the rural areas and/or in the low income bracket.
This is our support for the poor for whom we remain committed to deliver a better life”.
He added that in Africa, Nigeria is the largest producer of the
commodity but unfortunately ranks very low in Africa in per capita
consumption of LPG and urged everyone to port from kerosene and firewood
to LPG, saying: “Lagos don port o”.
“In this way we hope to bridge the gap between the rich and poor by
raising the quality of life of our vulnerable people. In this way we
expect that we will begin to move our people away from the risk of death
by fuel explosion when they desperately search for kerosene and lose
their lives in a country that has so much proven gas reserves”, he
stated.
Governor Fashola said Liquefied Petroleum Gas’s positive social and
environmental impact are considerable in terms of low Green House Gas
(GHG’s) Emissions and that government expects that it will take the
people away from an unhealthy environment to a cleaner and healthier
one, free of respiratory and other life threatening diseases.
He explained that the State Government has established a partnership
with the LPG group at the Lagos State Chamber of Commerce through its
members such as Oando, Gas Terminalling, Chimons and Tewa Gas to name a
few; who already have on ground certified, and safe cylinders of various
sizes.
“Today, we are launching the first Skid-mounted LPG Plant right here
in Surulere. There will be further skid-mounted plants deployed in
various Local Government Areas (LGA) and Local Council Development Areas
(LCDA) for gas availability and easy refill of LPG, so that LPG becomes
as omnipresent as other cooking fuels currently are”.
“The beauty of these Skid plants is that our citizens are able to go
there and refill their empty cylinders with little or as much gas as
they can afford. It is pay as you go and pay as you can afford, but it
will no longer be the exclusive preserve of the rich”, the Governor
stated.
Governor Fashola went on to list the future targets of the State
Government on LPG to include the introduction of LPG into TAXIs and
Government vehicles in the state, introducing of LPG into public
transport buses and staff buses; having 25% of private cars, buses use
LPG and to create jobs through various LPG distribution channels
particularly in the small business enterprises sector of the economy.
He said as a nation, Nigeria faces the paradox of having an abundance
of natural resources such as Oil and Gas and yet comparatively marginal
economic growth and development and that one of the quick gains that
the citizenry can enjoy is in the use of Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG)
as the preferred choice of cooking.
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