The Federal Government has commenced the distribution of 27,000 LPG cylinders to beneficiaries in Akwa Ibom State, while 3,000 rural women are to receive ₦100,000 each under its entrepreneurship empowerment initiative.
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Gas, Obongemem Ekperikpe Ekpo, disclosed this at the launch of the Akwa Ibom pilot activation of the Decade of Gas National Grassroots LPG Penetration Programme and the Rural Women Empowerment Initiative.
Ekpo said the interventions were designed to translate government policies into tangible benefits for households, women and rural communities, stressing that women empowerment and access to clean cooking energy were critical to improving family welfare and stimulating grassroots economic activities.
He said each of the 3,000 women would receive ₦100,000, describing the intervention as more than a grant but an investment in enterprise, resilience and the productivity of Nigerian women.
“Today, 3,000 women are being empowered this day, with a token sum per person of 100,000 Naira,” the Minister said.
He added that the financial support would enable beneficiaries to expand their businesses, invest in agriculture and increase household income, while creating rural employment and stimulating local markets.
“It is more than a grant; it is a clear statement that this administration believes in enterprise, resilience, and leadership of Nigerian women,” Ekperikpe Ekpo stated.
The Minister also announced that Akwa Ibom had become the second state to benefit from the national grassroots LPG penetration programme, following the pilot activation in Bayelsa State on July 28, 2026.
According to him, the programme is targeted at all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, with an ambition to support one million households annually, while beneficiaries would receive support for LPG refills of their cylinders up to six times a year.
He explained that the initiative was aimed at encouraging households to move away from firewood, charcoal, kerosene and other traditional cooking fuels to cleaner, safer and more efficient energy sources.
The Minister said the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Gas, would continue to collaborate with state governments, regulators, private-sector operators, financial institutions, development partners and community leaders to deepen domestic gas utilisation and expand access to clean cooking.
In a remark, Governor Umo Eno commended the Federal Government for selecting Akwa Ibom as the second activation point for the programme, describing the initiative as an intervention that goes beyond the distribution of cooking cylinders.
The Governor said the programme would improve household welfare, protect the environment and create economic opportunities, particularly for women and vulnerable households.
“Today, we are not merely distributing LPG cylinders. We are distributing opportunity, enterprise, cleaner energy, but above all, we are delivering hope to Nigerians and to Akwa Ibomites in this case,” Governor Eno said.
He further urged investors to explore opportunities across the state’s gas value chain, including LPG bottling plants, cylinder manufacturing and maintenance, gas storage, transportation, logistics, gas processing, petrochemicals and gas-based manufacturing.
Governor Eno said Akwa Ibom’s abundant oil and gas resources, growing infrastructure and peaceful investment climate made the state attractive to investors, assuring that his administration would continue to provide an enabling environment for private-sector participation.
The Governor also announced plans to empower 300 women in each ward through women’s cooperatives, translating to about 110,000 women across the state’s 369 wards, beginning from October.
He said the initiative would complement ongoing state interventions aimed at strengthening grassroots enterprise and ensuring that women could use small-scale businesses to improve household income.
“Because if we build the women, we build the nation,” Eno declared, urging beneficiaries to make productive use of the empowerment funds and opportunities provided by government.
The Governor also called on beneficiaries to leverage the support to establish and grow businesses, stressing that even relatively small capital could make a significant difference to rural women when properly managed.
The launch brought together government officials, petroleum-sector regulators, development partners, community representatives and other stakeholders as the Federal Government intensified efforts to make Nigeria’s abundant gas resources more accessible to households and small businesses.
The Minister formally declared open the Akwa Ibom State launch of the Rural Women Empowerment Initiative for Entrepreneurship Development and the pilot activation of the Decade of Gas National Grassroots LPG Penetration Programme with a symbolic presentation of has cylinders.
