Federal Government approves the purchase of ₦9.2bn cooking stoves for rural women

The Federal Executive Council yesterday affirmed the purchase of N9.2bn worth of cooking stoves and ‘marvel packs’ for country ladies under the National Clean Cooking Scheme.

Talking with state house correspondence after the FEC meeting, the Supervising Minister of Information, Dr. Nurudeen Muhammed said the plan which is a national government activity, is outfitted towards diminishing the utilization of firewood among country ladies in Nigeria.

“The National Clean Cooking Scheme is an aggressive drive to engender clean cooking culture amongst the poor rural women, to reduce and possibly eliminate cooking with solid fossil which is detrimental to health. The scheme is expected to provide 20 million clean stoves over a five-year period at the rate of four million stoves per annum, which will be distributed free of charge. It will also reduce incessant felling of trees, which exposes the country to ecological problems” he said.

The Minister said N9.2bn, inclusive of Value Added Tax, was approved for the acquirement of 750,000 units of clean cooking stoves and 18,000 wonder packs, a non-electric moderate cooker invented by Sarah Collins, a South African eco-ambitious person, who concocted the thought of encompassing the container with pads six years back amid a power cut in her nation.

He said the stoves were required to be conveyed by Messrs Integra Renewable Energy Services Limited within  12 weeks.

Minister of Environment Mrs. Lawrecia Mallam who additionally talked on the activity, said the administration chose to buy the cooking stoves for the rural ladies on the grounds that it considers cooking with firewood a silent killer.