Lagos, private firms begin supply of cooking gas to residents

 The supply of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) as preferred cooking fuel for households in Lagos as against kerosene and charcoal, which kicked off in the state, Tuesday, will see collaborating private sector partners establish skid plants across the 20 local government areas and 37 local council development areas (LCDAs) of Lagos in what aims at making supply accessible to millions of people.

The cooking gas initiative is taking off as Governor Babatunde Fashola also on Tuesday assured traders during a visit to the Trinity auto spare parts market, Apapa, gutted by fire, Sunday afternoon, that his administration will rebuild the shops. He advised them to consider taking insurance policy which will absorb the shock of such huge losses in the future. Goods worth millions of naira were lost in the fire incident which razed no fewer than 150 shops. BusinessDay gathered that the burnt one-storey shopping complex which has shown signs of distress was built about 1976.

Some of the partners in the LPG supply project which has received the full endorsement of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) are Oando Gas, Techno Gas, Lite Gas and Banner Gas. The project driven by the Lagos State Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources will see the partners deliver cooking gas in cylinders of different sizes ranging from 5.0, 5.2, 13.8 and 42.5 at designated places across the state.

Fashola, speaking at the launch of the Eko gas project at Masha Roundabout, Surulere, said it marked the gradual return to the old days when cooking with gas by Nigerian households was not a luxury. He said the flag-off of the initiative by his administration was also an indication that gas is no longer the exclusive preserve of the rich, as the poor can now also have access to it for their domestic uses as against kerosene and charcoal, which aggravate the green house effect and global warming.

With the current 8.0 billion metric feet gas production per day in Nigeria, the country, Fashola said, has enough to meet the needs of its citizens, but lamented this is not being optimally utilised. He said with the successful launch of the project, “LPG is now going to be our preferred option for cooking in Lagos,” adding that the gas would be made available to Lagosians in different locations at various prices.