BUSINESS
FG, Coy to Distribute 1m Clean Cookstoves to Curtail Use of Firewoods
The Federal Government, in partnership with the Atmosfair, a German company yesterday revealed plans to distribute one million ‘Save80 Clean Cookstoves’ annually to curtail the use of firewoods by 80 per cent.
The Director-General of National Council on Climate Change, Dr Salisu Dahiru, made the disclosure while briefing newsmen on the sidelines of a Sensitisation programme for North Central Women, held in Keffi Local Government Area of Nasarawa State.
He said that the cookstove had been invented and designed in such a way that it would help families save at least 80 per cent of all the firewoods that they use in cooking a standard meal for any family.
Dahiru assured that the Federal Government would provide an enabling environment for Atmosfair to ensure that the cookstoves were made available and affordable at all times to the people.
“That is exactly what we are doing and that is why we are partnering with the private sector. Remember this is an invention outside Nigeria but we made it so easy.
“And governments at the Federal and the state levels have made it possible for this company to invest in Nigeria, to set up a factory in Kano and set up an assembly plan here in Agada village, Keffi where they will bring the completely nocked down pieces and assemble it.
“As far as these factories are concerned, the target is to be able to produce on an annual basis, one million of these cookstoves and distributed annual but we are starting on a phase by phase basis.
“We are going to start with about 100,000 and then increase the capacity of the assembly plant because once the existing plan is working they are going to open another one in Kebbi state so that by next year the target will reach about 500,000 on an annual basis and then we seal it up to one million per annum,” he said.
The director-general said that the issue of climate change was one of the most important issues that affect everybody, both the rich and poor, small or developed countries.
Dahiru said that one way by which the effects of the climate change could be controlled was by tree planting, noting that cutting down the trees was one sure way that has led the world to fall into the problem.
“In Nigeria, we know that one of the ways we harvest and use trees is for cooking. Remember, we have a population of over 200 million, if 80 per cent of these 200 million are relying on firewood as the main source of energy for cooking and heating whether it is direct firewood or you are using charcoal is all firewood.
“Tell me the area that will be felt every year just to get firewood for cooking is so much that if something concrete is not done, then we will continue to deflect our forests, we will lose the forests and we will lose the soil.
“And it will not be able to support agriculture and then it will become desert and people will migrate and go to the areas where there is still little forest and the community in those places where you have little forests begin to resist them and then communal clashes will come,” he said.
Earlier, the Chief Executive Officer of Atmosfair gGmbh, Dr Dietrich Brockhagen, explained that the cookstove not only save about 80 per cent of cost, but it also has 10 years guarantee.
“When I first came to Nigeria 10 years ago, I traveled from the South West Lagos up to Katsina and when I saw the beautiful landscape and I met so many Nigerians and I realized how much forest was degraded.
“I saw many women cooking with firewoods and they were suffering from pollution and I said ok there must be solution to this and some of my Nigerian friends told me that even the tension between herders and farmers sometimes can be linked to erosion and land degradation.
“So, I said may be if I bring efficient cookstove to Nigeria it might be a solution and there could be changed and this is what I have been trying ever since,” he said.
Also speaking, Amb. Faruk Malami-Yabo, the Chairman, Board of Advisory of the company and former Nigerian Ambassador to Jordan, said the cookstoves would not only enhance cooking process, but also save the environment from the negative effects of climate change. (NAN)
By Tambaya Julius, Abuja
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has auctioned 22,175 litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) seized by Operation Whirlwind along the Lagos-Ogun axis, with a Duty Paid Value (DPV) of N32.1 million.
The National Coordinator of Operation Whirlwind, Deputy Comptroller Abubakar Aliyu, disclosed this on Monday at the public auction held at the Customs Training College, Ikeja, Lagos.
Aliyu said the exercise was carried out on the directive of the Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, to ensure transparency, accountability and proper handling of seized petroleum products in line with extant laws and approved procedures.
He said Customs operatives intercepted 887 jerry cans, each containing 25 litres of petrol, bringing the total to 22,175 litres. Five vehicles used to convey the products were also seized.
According to Aliyu, the seizures were made at identified smuggling flashpoints, including Imeko, Ilara, Ilaro, Idiroko and Seme-Badagry, following credible intelligence.
He put the combined DPV of the seized petrol and means of conveyance at N32.1 million, describing the operation as targeted and intelligence-driven.
Aliyu said Operation Whirlwind was focused on stopping the illegal movement, diversion and cross-border smuggling of petroleum products to neighbouring countries.
He said the NCS had stepped up surveillance, intelligence gathering and enforcement along routes identified as vulnerable to petroleum product smuggling.
The initiative, he added, was aimed at protecting the country’s economic interests, strengthening national energy security and ensuring that products meant for domestic consumption were not diverted.
Aliyu urged participants and stakeholders to follow the approved auction guidelines to ensure a fair and transparent exercise.
He commended the Comptroller-General and the NCS management for their support and strategic direction, while also appreciating the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) for their continued collaboration.
He praised officers and men of Operation Whirlwind Zone A for their professionalism and commitment to duty, warning smugglers that the operation would continue to dismantle illegal networks through intelligence-led enforcement.
The Customs coordinator also called on border communities to provide timely information on suspicious activities, stressing that tackling smuggling required the cooperation of all stakeholders.
The Acting Commandant of the Customs Training College, Ikeja, Deputy Comptroller Patience Ita, said the Comptroller-General had maintained a zero-tolerance stance on the smuggling of petroleum products and other goods.
Ita, who hosted the auction, said the exercise should serve as a warning to smugglers, noting that even small-scale diversion of petroleum products could have serious consequences for the national economy.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd. (NNPC Ltd.) recorded N7.2 trillion Profit After Tax (PAT) in 2025, a 33 per cent increase from N5.4 trillion.
Group Chief Executive Officer, Bayo Ojulari, disclosed this on Tuesday in Abuja at a media briefing after the company’s AGM and second Earnings Call.
Revenue declined to N34.
5 trillion from N45.1 trillion in 2024.Ojulari attributed the 24 per cent revenue decline to lower crude oil prices and reduced product volumes following market deregulation.
He said earnings per share rose to N35.
90 from N27.07, while return on equity improved by 200 basis points to 16 per cent.The company’s declared dividend increased by 35 per cent to N5.8 trillion, while taxes, royalties and other government remittances rose 39 per cent to N22.3 trillion.
“Stronger earnings in spite of this pressure demonstrate the resilience of NNPC Limited’s operations,” Ojulari said.
He said profit grew because NNPC had improved its operations and maintained discipline across its businesses.
Ojulari said crude oil and condensate production reached a five-year peak of 1.77 million barrels per day.
He added that gas supply reached a three-year high of 7.2 billion standard cubic feet per day.
“Stronger performance gives NNPC Limited more capacity to invest, contribute to public revenue and strengthen Nigeria’s energy security,” he said.
On infrastructure, Ojulari said the mainline of the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano gas pipeline had been completed.
He said work was ongoing on tie-ins to delivery points, beginning with Abuja, followed by Ajaokuta and Kaduna.
According to him, the next milestone is to commence gas flow through the pipeline to industries and power plants.
Ojulari said the company completed the Obiafu-Obrikom-Oben (OB3) gas pipeline in 2026 after several years of challenges.
On the refineries, he said prospective partners under NNPC’s technical equity partnership model had conducted a three-month onsite review.
He said more than 34 engineers participated in the review, adding that NNPC was now concluding the report.
Ojulari said the company was targeting self-sustaining and profitable refineries, with a pathway expected to be defined soon.
He reaffirmed NNPC’s target of producing two million barrels of crude oil daily by 2027 and three million barrels by 2030.
He said gas production targets were 10 billion cubic feet per day by 2027 and 12 billion by 2030.
“NNPC plans to mobilise over 60 billion dollars of investment across the energy value chain,” he added.
Ojulari said more than 1,000 newly recruited professionals joined NNPC in 2025 under its Talent to Value programme.
He said the recruits completed a one-year internship and training programme before being deployed across the company. (NAN)
The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) says there is a need for sustained capacity building in competition reporting and issues.
The Executive Vice Chairman of FCCPC, Tunji Bello, said this in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Sunday.
Bello described competition matters as a relatively new area in the country adding that it required specialised knowledge among journalists, regulators and other stakeholders.
He said that competition law and consumer protection regulations had made stakeholders’ education a priority for the commission.
Bello said that the FCCPC recently supported the training of judges through the National Judicial Institute (NJI) to deepen understanding of competition-related matters.
He noted that members of the judiciary also required exposure to the nuances of the emerging field.
“We recognised that because it is a new terrain, the judges themselves are not familiar with the nuances.
”So we brought in experts on competition,” he said.
Bello stressed that the media had a critical role in promoting public understanding of competition and consumer protection issues.
“If FCCPC is becoming more known to the public, it is as a result of the kind of publicity you have given us,” he said. (NAN)
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