Lifestyle Nigeria gathered that the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Gas 360, Emmanuel Uwandu has revealed that cooking with firewood and charcoal is equivalent to smoking 20 packages of cigarettes.

He stated this on Friday, 26th April, 2024 during the unveiling of the 20,000 metric tonnes of Liquified Petroleum Gas Depot Project by Windek Energy Limited in Atabrikang Aquaha, Ibeno Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State.

Uwandu emphasized the dire situation, particularly in the Niger Delta region, where approximately 21,000 women lose their lives each year due to reliance on firewood and charcoal.

Drawing a stark comparison, he equated cooking with these traditional fuels to smoking 20 packs of cigarettes daily, highlighting the immense health risks faced by Nigerian women on a daily basis.

He lamented the lack of attention given to this silent killer, stating that while diseases like malaria and HIV/AIDS receive significant focus, the deadly impact of cooking with “dirty” fuels often goes unnoticed.

Despite being the leading cause of mortality in Nigeria, clean cooking initiatives receive minimal funding compared to other health interventions.

Uwandu urged both national and sub-national governments to prioritize clean cooking solutions and seize global opportunities to address this issue.

He emphasized the need for robust policies and government support to transition communities from reliance on dirty fuels to cleaner alternatives. Ultimately, he called for concerted action to save lives and improve the health and well-being of Nigerian women across the nation.

Uwandu said, “Cooking with firewood, and charcoal is equivalent to smoking 20 packages of cigarettes For an average smoker that is too much, that is what women in Nigeria have to deal with daily.

“In Nigeria 98, 000 women die annually from the use of firewood and charcoal and across the 774 local governments that translates to about 2,700 deaths annually.

“In Niger Delta alone 21, 000 women die from the use of firewood and charcoal. If we bring that home to Akwa Ibom State 31 Local governments 75 women die every year from the use of firewood and charcoal”.

Today, in Nigeria, cooking with dirty fuel is the highest killer of Nigerians but for some reason malaria and HIV get the attention, and nobody talks about cooking with dirty fuel. Globally, 4.6bn dollars was provided to fight against malaria and HIV for Nigeria but clean cooking receives less than 200 million dollars, we have to do more.”

He urged Nigerian governments at both the national and sub-national levels to seize global opportunities for clean cooking.

Emphasising the importance of action, he stated that the global committee seeks robust clean action plans on policy and governmental support.

Their aim is to facilitate the transformation of communities from reliance on dirty fuel to embracing clean cooking practices.

A Federal High Court, Abuja, on Friday, fixed May 16 for ruling on a motion filed by Prof. Cyril Ndifon, the suspended Dean of Faculty of Law, University of Calabar (UNICAL), seeking an order quashing the sexual harassment charge against him.

Justice James Omotosho fixed the date for the court ruling after Osuobeni Akponimisingha, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC)’s counsel, and the lawyer of Ndifon, Joe Agi, adopted their processes and presented their arguments for and against the motion.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Ndifon and his co-defendant, Sunny Anyanwu, had alleged that Akponimisingha was not qualified to practise as lawyer.

Lifestyle Nigeria gathered that there was pandemonium in Ita-Oshin area of Abeokuta, Ogun State capital, as a gas tanker explosion left a trail of devastation, claiming four lives and about six vehicles were burnt.

It was reliably gathered that the explosion, occurred following an accident involving the gas tanker, when it was trying to manoeuvre along the road railings.

It was further gathered that emergency response teams, including personnel from the Federal Road Safety Corps, Ogun State Fire Service swiftly mobilized to the scene to evacuate the remains of the victims and contain the inferno.

Among the vehicles consumed by the inferno were taxis, a private car, and a truck, with the impact extending to nearby shops and houses.

While security and safety officials present at the scene are yet to provide a comprehensive statement regarding the incident, eyewitnesses, who spoke under the condition of anonymity, said some casualties had already been rushed to the hospital by the response teams.

Details soon…