FEC okays N9bn for cooking stoves •N61bn engineering contract too

THE Federal Executive ‎Council (FEC) on Wednesday approved the award of contract for the procurement of 750,000 units of clean cooking stove and 18,000 wonder bags under the National Clean Cooking Scheme.

This is part of the plan by government to provide about 20million stoves over five years to be distributed free of charge to poor rural women in order to discourage the use of fossil fuel as well as prevent accompanying health hazards.

Vice President Namadi Sambo presided over the meeting which also approved the award of N60.8billion contract for the provision of engineering infrastructure to Kyami District, Zone C, Abuja.

The supervising Minister of Information, Mr. Nurudeen Mohammed, who briefed State House correspondents after the meeting, said that the Council ratified President Goodluck Jonathan's‎ anticipatory approval for the scheme which he explained, is an aggressive drive to engender clean cooking culture amongst the poor rural women, reduce and possibly eliminate cooking with solid fossil which is detrimental to health.

He also observed that the use of the stove will reduce incessant felling of trees which exposes the country to ecological problems.

On the wonder bag, he said it is a non-electric slow cooker invented by Sarah Collins, ‎a South African eco-entrepreneur, who came up with the idea six years ago during a power cut, cooking her dinner by surrounding the pan with cushions.

The minister observed that scientists believe that each wonder bag can prevent the emission of half a ton of carbon dioxide a year and save a poor family a tenth of their income by cutting fuel costs.