The National Gas Policy (NGP) put in place by the government may be facing a major test at the moment as the implementation of the policy seems not to be yielding proportionate results to its roadmap and action plans. According to the document, the vision of NGP is “to be an attractive gas-based industrial nation, giving primary attention to meeting local gas demand requirements, and developing a significant presence in international markets”.
As revealed also in the document, the policy roadmap is already at the long-term implementation stage, yet the action plan for the downstream section is not producing the right effect on the poorest. The NGP was approved by the Federal Executive Council on 28th June 2017 to meet the burning need of the nation for sustainable and environment-friendly energy for domestic and industrial use. The document identifies that approximately 30 million households and more than 100 million Nigerians depend on wood as a source of energy for cooking but this has come with collateral damage to human health, environment and economy of the country.
Following the approval of the NGP, a Domestic Liquefied Petroleum Gas Penetration Programme (DLPGPP) was approved for the Ministry of Petroleum Resources to support households in the country that still use traditional energy sources for cooking and towards the attainment of five million metric tonnes domestic utilisation of LPG, and creation of an estimated 500,000 job opportunities nationwide in five years. The DLPGPP was meant to consolidate the NGP to improve LPG distribution efficiency and to remove the hazard of pollution of the environment and desertification of the forest.
LPG is popularly referred to as cooking gas, though it serves some other purposes. However, while consumption of LPG occurs at the household level it also serves purposes in the petrochemical industry, autogas, and many others etc.
An environmentalist, Mr Goke Afolabi, applauded the policy stating that apart from enhancing the adoption of LPG by a larger population, it was essential for conformity with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and SDG goals 7 and 13. According to him, “Climate change has been attributed to natural occurrences; however, human activities can also be a major cause for climate change. Greenhouse gases which are dangerous to the ecosystem are released as a result of both natural disaster and human activities”.
He added that trees that are cut down for cooking and production of charcoal act as protection against these gases; noting that once they are removed, the environment is exposed to harsh climate conditions.
Despite the increase in consumption of LPG in the last few years, its increasing price and rise in the cost of cylinders are creating a negative effect on the environment as opposed to the UNFCCC and SDG goals 7 and 13. Although the Federal Government has committed to expanding the LPG usage net before 2030, the NGP seems to be working on the reverse gear.
Indeed, environmentalists have expressed fears over the harm unaffordability of LPG might cause to the forests and the ecosystem as the population keeps increasing. According to the survey conducted, many consumers of LPG have resorted or reverted to the cheapest alternatives which they said are charcoal and firewood. They claimed kerosene stoves and electric burners are also difficult to manage.
Restaurants and canteens visited claimed they were initially cooking with firewood before they adopted cooking gas but with the hike in the price of cooking gas in the last two months, they have started using firewood or charcoal. Another survey also indicated that the cost of a 25kg sack of locally made charcoal now ranges between N3000 and N5500 on average depending on the quality and location of purchase.
Mr Adewale Oloyede, a retiree and farmer said, “the high demand for firewood and charcoal calls for the concern of all considering the health hazard it could pose to the users and the disruption their use could cause to the environment through pollution”.
On her part, Mrs Mulikat Kazeem, a charcoal trader in Akanran, Ona-Ora Local Government Area, said there has been a rise in the demand for charcoal in the last month.
A natural gas analyst, Omono Okonkwo, in an interview monitored on Arise TV, said, “we have lots of gas but no infrastructure around gas resources. To reduce imports, adequate investments are needed as suppliers are importing LPG paying in dollars, and due to inflation this affects retail prices”.
According to her, the NGP document also identifies that in the past years, the reason for low consumption of LPG was its unaffordability by the poorest and also the initial cost of acquiring an LPG cooking pack which are cylinders, stoves and regulators, insisting that to make LPG penetration programme successful, it is expected that the government would review its strategies for a more result-oriented national gas policy.
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