…Says initiative will curb deforestation, carbon emissions, improve women’s health

By: Goodluck E.Adubazi, Abuja.

Over 2,000 residents of Kuje Area Council in the Federal Capital Territory have benefited from a clean energy cooking initiative of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) Foundation aimed at reducing dependence on firewood and charcoal.

The initiative, which was held on Tuesday at the palace of the Emir of Kuje, Gomo of Kuje, was designed to promote clean energy adoption, discourage deforestation and raise awareness about the health and environmental dangers associated with traditional cooking methods.

Speaking during the programme, the Chairman of PENGASSAN Foundation and National Treasurer of PENGASSAN, Comrade David Owen, said the intervention was part of the association’s efforts to give back to communities and promote environmentally friendly energy solutions.
Owen, who spoke on behalf of the PENGASSAN President, Comrade Engr. Festus Osifo, said the foundation was particularly concerned about Kuje because of the high dependence on firewood in the area.

According to him, a significant quantity of firewood used across the Abuja metropolis is sourced from communities around Kuje, making the area strategic to the foundation’s clean cooking campaign.

He said the initiative was aimed at encouraging residents to move away from charcoal and firewood to cleaner and greener energy sources in order to reduce deforestation and greenhouse gas emissions.

“We are here to create awareness for the Kuje people on clean energy and clean cooking gas.

We want them to understand why we need to move from charcoal and firewood to renewable and green energy.

“This will help us stop deforestation and encourage environmental friendliness,” he said.

Owen disclosed that the foundation empower residents with cooking stoves and gas cylinders, adding that the intervention was part of a wider PENGASSAN Foundation programme being implemented in different parts of the country.

He explained that the foundation had carried out similar interventions in other communities and would extend its activities to other areas, including Kebbi, where borehole projects were being undertaken, and communities in Warri, where support was being provided to persons living with disabilities.

He said the foundation had also embarked on school renovation projects and other community development interventions.

According to him, the PENGASSAN Foundation was established last year as part of the association’s commitment to corporate social responsibility and giving back to society.

“We are not the government and it is not our responsibility to provide these things. But we feel that if we are earning, we should reach out to other people and let them get what we are getting,” he said.

Also speaking, the National Treasurer of the PENGASSAN Women Commission and Secretary of the PENGASSAN Foundation, Comrade Maryann Ada, said the clean cooking initiative would particularly benefit women, who bear the greater burden of household cooking.

She said prolonged exposure to smoke from firewood was harmful to women’s health and could contribute to various illnesses.

“Women do more of the cooking. When you look at what firewood does to women and their health, you find out that a lot of sicknesses arise from the use of firewood for cooking.

“So today, we have come to empower them. We have come to say no to firewood cooking and give them a better way of cooking so that they can live better lives with their children,” she said.

Ada added that the foundation would monitor the distribution to ensure that the cooking equipment and gas cylinders reached the intended beneficiaries and were being put to proper use.

She said community members would be engaged after the distribution to assess the impact of the intervention.

The National Secretary of the PENGASSAN Women Commission, Comrade Chidinma Anyanwu, urged beneficiaries to make proper use of the facilities provided and embrace clean energy cooking.

She said the intervention would contribute to reducing deforestation and improving the quality of air in the community.
Anyanwu also disclosed that the PENGASSAN Foundation was funded by members of the association through contributions from their salaries.

She commended the PENGASSAN leadership under President Comrade Engr. Festus Osifo for supporting the foundation’s interventions despite the prevailing economic challenges.

The Gomo of Kuje, HRH Alhaji Dr. Haruna Tanko Jibrin, commended the PENGASSAN Foundation for bringing the clean cooking intervention to the community.

The traditional ruler said the initiative would reduce the hardship and security risks faced by women who travel long distances in search of firewood.

He recalled that residents previously sourced firewood from nearby areas but now had to travel between five and 10 kilometres because of increasing development and depletion of available wood.

“Because of development, people can go as far as five to 10 kilometres before getting wood. So, this has reduced the suffering of our women.

“There is also the security aspect. For a woman to leave here and go five or 10 kilometres in search of firewood is a risk,” he said.

The monarch expressed appreciation to the PENGASSAN Foundation, describing the intervention as an opportunity that residents had been waiting for.

He assured the foundation of the community’s gratitude, saying the initiative would help reduce poverty and improve the welfare of vulnerable residents, he noted that Pengasan Foundation will always be in their minds.

Some beneficiaries also recounted the difficulties they faced while relying on firewood for cooking.
One of them, Danladi Sakima, said women often encountered dangerous animals, including scorpions,
while travelling into the bush to gather firewood.
She described the experience as dangerous and stressful, expressing gratitude to the PENGASSAN Foundation for providing an alternative source of cooking energy.

Another beneficiary, Blessing Elisha, said cooking with firewood had affected her health, particularly causing her eyes to swell because of the smoke.

She said the adoption of cooking gas had significantly improved her experience, adding that clean cooking was faster, safer and more convenient.

The foundation said the initiative was expected to reduce the harmful emissions associated with firewood and charcoal cooking while promoting cleaner air, better health and environmental sustainability.

The intervention comes amid Nigeria’s broader transition towards cleaner and more sustainable energy sources, with stakeholders increasingly advocating clean cooking as a means of improving public health, reducing deforestation and cutting greenhouse gas emissions.

The PENGASSAN Foundation said its clean cooking campaign reflects its commitment to promoting “clean energy for human today, better tomorrow.”