Following Federal Government’s plans to purchase N9.2 billion worth of cooking stoves and ‘wonder bags’ for rural women under the National Clean Cooking Scheme, women across the country have rejected the proposal, saying they do not need it.
It would be recalled that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved the plans during their last week meeting in Abuja.
Nurudeen Muhammed, supervising minister of information, and his counterpart in the Environment Ministry, Mrs. Laurencia Mallam, made the revelation in last week’s FEC meeting presided over by Vice President Namadi Sambo.
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The N9.2 billion, inclusive of Value Added Tax (VAT), was approved for the procurement of 750,000 units of clean cooking stoves and 18,000 ‘wonder bags’.
According to him, the stoves would be delivered by Messrs Integra Renewable Energy Services Limited, a South African firm, within a period of 12 weeks.
Reacting to the development, Chairperson of Edo State Market Women Association, Mrs. Blackie Omoregie, described the plan as a misplaced priority.
She said what Nigerian women need now most is uninterrupted electricity to ensure that women selling pure water, grinding pepper and others, using electricity are not forced into incurring extra expenses of purchasing fuel before they can transact their businesses, not cooking stove.
