Oando Marketing Plc, one of the leading oil marketers in the country has reiterated its commitment towards providing products and services that have positive impact on the environment. This was stated on June 5, as Nigeria joined the rest of the world to celebrate World Environment Day.

   In the past few years, most of the oil marketers in the country such as Oando Marketing Plc and Total Nigeria Plc have been organizing series of awareness campaigns to sensitize youths and women about the harmful effects of the use of kerosene, firewoods and coal with the aim of encouraging a shift from these traditional means of cooking to the adoption of LPG as fuel for cooking.

   Despite the campaigns, recent statistics shows that Nigeria consumes about 350,000 tonnes of LPG per annum. This figure is far below the expected quantity that a country with a population of about 160 million should consume per annum.  Hence, in order to improve the use of LPG in the country, it is important to consider some of the major challenges hindering its adoption.

    Firstly, the lack of appropriate logistics and effective policies by the federal government constitutes a major threat to the improvement in the usage of LPG in the country. There are limited infrastructures to aid in the supply of the product. This is worsened by the unavailability of LPG terminals in most parts of the country as majority of the terminals are located in Lagos with a few in Port Harcourt. 

   In addition, the safety of LPG cylinders has become a major source of concern for most individuals. There have been reports of bursting of LPG cylinders resulting in massive destruction of lives and properties. This problem is escalated by the increasing number of substandard cylinders flooding the market daily. 

   Furthermore, the unavailability of a cylinder producing company in the country coupled with the high tariffs paid on imported cylinders and accessories has made it difficult for people to switch over to LPG.

   In order for the federal government to achieve its proposed plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20% in 2020, it needs to develop effective policies to encourage Nigerians to shift from the use of kerosene, firewoods and coal to LPG. There is the need to provide more infrastructures and construct more terminals to make the product more accessible to the people. Also, Nigeria LP Gas Association (NLPGA) and its stakeholders should partner with Standard Organization of Nigeria (SON) to eradicate substandard cylinders and accessories so as to ensure the safety of LPG usage.

REFERENCES

http://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2016/06/05/worldenvironmentdayoandoadvocateslpgadoption/html

http://sweetcrudereports.com/2016/01/05/time-for-lpg-policy-in-nigeria/html

http://sweetcrudereports.com/2016/01/13/nigeriahaspotentialtoconsume5mtonnesoflpgyearlynlpga/html

PHOTO CREDITS

http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/LPG-.jpg/html

http://www.dailytrust.com.ng/news/business/concerns-over-modalities-of-free-gas-cylinders-distribution-by-fg/123172.html