News
HARSH REALITY! Abuja residents now use charcoal as alternative to gas
Some FCT residents have resorted to using charcoal and firewood as the cost of cooking gas continued to increase, the News Agency of Nigeria reports.
Those who spoke with NAN said with the incessant rise in the price of cooking gas, it is gradually becoming unaffordable to the common man.
NAN check on Friday also revealed that the cost of charcoal is gradually increasing owing to high demand, making some people switch to firewood.
Mrs Victoria Amosu, a resident of Gwagwalada Area Council said she has discontinued the use of cooking gas, adding that she uses firewood and charcoal which was not also cheap.
“I have stopped using cooking gas and I now use firewood or charcoal which the price is also increasing at alarming rate but more preferably that cooking gas.
“Before now, I buy 12.5kg of cooking gas for between N12,000 to N13,000 in 2023 but now it’s sold for between N15,750 to N16,400.
“I cannot continue to spend that much only on cooking gas.
“I use charcoal and firewood now although they are not cheap either but it is affordable and last more that the gas”, she said.
Mr Dayo Kunle, a businessman at Mararaba said with the constant increase in gas, he has resolved with his wife to use firewood or charcoal stove as an alternative to cooking gas.
Kunle said they have to spend more using cooking gas because of the family size and constant boiling of water.
“Though we have refilled our gas cylinder, it is only used to warm our food when the need arises,” he said.
Mrs Shola Bisi, a civil servant said that the increase in the price of cooking gas has really taken a toll on her.
“Using of gas is the only option I have, this is because I stay on the fifth floor in the estate where I live.
“So I use my cooking gas with wisdom, I make sure I get all things ready before I turn on my gas. I cook food that will last me the whole day and only put on the gas to warm my food before eating,” she said.
Mrs Gloria Ikenna, a restaurant owner, said that the increase in price has negatively affected her business and the profit she makes.
Ikenna said her restaurant was located in a residential area and the use of charcoal stoves or firewood are prohibited.
“The situation is a terrible one that needs urgent intervention. I spend so much on gas that I hardly make any reasonable profit from this business,” she said.
She appealed to the government to find a lasting solution to the constant increase in the price of gas in order to help businesses like hers that relied on cooking gas.
Ms Ogechukwu Ukwuani, a corp member, said she uses electric cooker and had to reconsider her choice of food whenever their was no electricity supply.
Ukwuani said that it was very hard to cope as a Nigerian in this present economic hardship.
She called on the government to put an end to the plights of Nigerians.
NAN reports that a bag of charcoal which was initially sold between N3,500 to N4,000 now sells for N5,500 to N6,000 per bag.
(NAN)
The Nigerian Air Force, NAF, has taken delivery of five new helicopters as the Federal Government steps up efforts to modernise the country’s airpower capabilities and strengthen military operations against security threats.
The platforms comprise three AW-109 Trekker B helicopters manufactured by Leonardo Helicopters of Italy and two H-125 helicopters manufactured by Airbus Helicopters.
In a statement issued on Tuesday by Air Commodore Ehimen Ejodame, Director of Public Relations and Information, Nigerian Air Force Headquarters, the NAF said the three AW-109s, which are part of 10 recently acquired by the Federal Government, were received in Lagos on September 15, 2026, while the remaining seven are expected to be delivered before the end of the year. The two H-125 helicopters had been delivered earlier.
The Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Sunday Kelvin Aneke, said the new helicopters would increase aircraft availability and improve the NAF’s ability to support ongoing military operations.
“The arrival of these five helicopters provides greater flexibility in the employment of airpower in support of ground troops in ongoing operations,” Aneke said.
He said the AW-109 Trekker B helicopters would enhance the NAF’s capabilities in intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, close air support, armed escort, combat search and rescue, and other joint operations.
Aneke added that the H-125 helicopters would provide light helicopter support for various operational requirements.
The new platforms are undergoing post-delivery assembly and technical and crew-readiness processes ahead of their induction and operationalisation.
Aneke said the increased rotary-wing capacity would strengthen support for joint forces conducting operations against terrorism, kidnapping and banditry.
He said the NAF would also prioritise maintenance and logistics support to ensure the new aircraft remain available for operations.
The Oba of Lagos, Rilwan Akiolu, has endorsed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s bid for a second term in office, declaring that there will be “no vacancy” in the Presidential Villa, Abuja for the next four or five years.
Oba Akiolu gave the support when the Director-General of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council, Senator Abdulaziz Yari, led members of the council on a courtesy visit to his palace in Lagos on Monday.
The monarch urged politicians to approach the 2027 General Elections with responsibility and ensure that the electoral process is peaceful and serves the interests of Nigerians.
Oba Akiolu cautioned members of the campaign council against actions capable of undermining the peace and stability of the country, even as he urged them to uphold honesty and shun the Machiavellian principle that the end justifies the means.
Speaking, the Director-General of the Campaign Council, Yari, said the delegation was in Lagos to seek the monarch’s blessings, prayers and counsel as the council begins its nationwide campaign activities ahead of the 2027 polls.
Yari said the APC believed President Tinubu deserved a second term to consolidate his administration’s efforts in the areas of the economy, security and infrastructure.
The Campaign D-G, while acknowledging the economic difficulties facing Nigerians, appealed for continued support for the president, saying APC leaders from the North would work to secure strong backing for Tinubu’s re-election across the region.
Receiving the delegation, Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, described the visit as significant, noting that the council had made the Oba’s palace one of its early stops following its engagement with the Sokoto Caliphate.
Governor Sanwo-Olu said the visit underscored Lagos’ strategic importance to Nigeria’s political process, describing the state as the country’s commercial and economic nerve centre as well as a major political hub.
The visit was attended by Lagos APC leaders, local government chairmen, members of the National Assembly, state lawmakers and other party stakeholders.
Former Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) Alhaji Mohammed Mani, has been endorsed as the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party PDP in Niger state
Alhaji Mani replaces Abubakar Sulaiman, who was elected at the PDP primary last May.
Sulaiman voluntarily withdrawn from the position in the interest of the peace unity and progress of the party.
The endorsement of the former FIRS boss for the governorship contest was made by PDP stakeholders from across the state at the state party secretariat.
Addressing the stakeholders, Alhaji Mani promised to deliver the state to the PDP in next year’s election and solicited the support of party faithful for the realisation of the objective.
The new PDP candidate had earlier contested for the governorship ticket of the All Progressives Congress(APC) which Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago got by “ consensus.”
He was among the APC aspirants who lost in the primary election and recently defected to the PDP.
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