By Ola ‘Kiya, Reporting
Amid soaring cost of Liquefied Petroleum Gas, commonly known as cooking gas, in Nigeria, Nasarawa State government has reportedly banned the use and sales of charcoal in the state to protect the environment.
Stonix News reports that LPG has suddenly become a no-go area for an average Nigeria in the last five months as the prices keep soaring beyond their purchasing power.
Checks by Stonix News on Saturday revealed that an average price of cooking gas in Nigeria per cylinder (kg) sells thus: 1kg goes for ₦800, 2kg for ₦1,600, 3kg for ₦2,400 and 5kg for ₦4, 500, among others.
As a result, folks, who have, hitherto been enjoying cheap LPG gas prior to 2015, have resorted to use of charcoal and other primitive methods of food processing.
But announcing the ban on charcoal by the state government with no alternatives proffered, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, Mr Aliyu Agwai, on Saturday in Lafia, said that because the process of producing charcoal was harmful to the environment and causing global warming, the people must stop using charcoal or be prosecuted when caught.
Agwai noted that burning of charcoal which price has also gone up beyond the reach of the poor, besides felling of trees, also produces harmful emission poisonous to the environment and the human body.
“Cutting trees can result in the loss of habitat for animal species, which can harm the ecosystems.
“Almost all the land animals and plants live in forests and many cannot survive the deforestation that destroys their homes,” he observed.
He warned those selling and using charcoal to desist or get ready for prosecution in case of violation.
He lauded the residents of the state for the level of compliance with the sensitisation programme on environmental sanitation.
“Usually every last Saturday of the month is set aside for sanitation exercise, but we brought it back to today because of the Christmas celebration,” he added.
Agwai said that all roads to the state were blocked to prevent passage of motorists from other states, but they had been opened after the sanitation exercise.
“We only allowed those with permission from the relevant ministry, or on essential services to pass and move around during the exercise,” he said.
Meanwhile a mobile court, handling environmental-related cases, has prosecuted 32 persons suspected to have violated environmental sanitation laws in Lafia.
The Prosecutor, Mr Abubakar Mohammed, who is also a Chief Environment Officer, told the court that the suspects were transacting their private businesses while the sanitation exercise was in progress.
Mohammed said that the offences violated Section 9(2), of the state Environmental Sanitation Law.
He urged the court to sanction them accordingly to serve as a deterrent to others.
The Judge, Mr Abdullahi Lande, convicted and sentenced them to six months imprisonment with an option of fine of between N5, 000 and N50, 000, respectively.
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