The Liquefied Petroleum Group (LPG), Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), on Friday in Lagos, donated 50 8.3kg gas cylinders free to women in Surulere area of the state.
The donation was made in collaboration with Quaint Agencies Limited, an engineering firm and Our Saviours Anglican church, Surulere.
Speaking, the Managing Director, Quaint Agencies Limited, Mr Bambu Ademiluyi, said that the project was a social responsibility programme.
“This is a social responsibility programme which was borne out of the fact that Gov. Babatunde Fashola gave out some cylinders free to Lagosians.
“The LPG group of the LCCI was the group that supplied all the 20,000; out of the profit that the group made, we decided to give out 1,500 cylinders free to Lagosians.
“So, we decided to give out the cylinders in churches and mosques; we had given to the first set of beneficiaries at a mosque in Lagos on April 7.
“We intend to continue this project to about eight other locations of the state including Mushin, Ikeja, Lekki areas of the state, “ he said.
The managing director said that the essence of the programme was to create the awareness that LPG was safe to use through the women to their various communities.
“The women are the main beneficiaries; it will affect their health positively and stretch their budget for fuel and LPG is cheaper and lasts longer, “ he said.
Ademiluyi urged people to avoid close contact with gas and ensure safe use of gas, saying “once you do not allow any LPG to be trapped in any environment it is safe.
“Once it escapes into the air and it can be diluted, it is okay; It is safe for as long as you manage it as it is supposed to be managed,” he said.
Also speaking, the Vicar, Our Saviour’s Anglican Church, Surulere, Ven. Folarin Shobo, urged well-meaning Lagosians to have compassion and reach out to people directly in need.
Shobo said, “There are a lot of people in the state that are very poor; pensions are not coming up, salaries are not being paid.
“Well-meaning Nigerians should go out of their comfort zone to ensure that the very poor in the society are supported so that activities can pick up and people can make a living.
“What people need is to feed, have roof over their heads and take care of their children,” he said.
Two beneficiaries of the programme, who expressed gratitude, said that they would ensure that they make effective use of the LPG.
A beneficiary, Mrs Fatimah Saheed, said that she used kerosene to do most of her cooking and that her new gift would make cooking easier and faster for her.
“I am grateful, because cooking used to be very tedious using kerosene, but now I can make my cooking easier and faster.
Another beneficiary, a trader, Mrs Remilekun Idris said that the cooking gas would make cooking more hygienic.
Idris said, “Cooking with my stove used to be very untidy and I spend a lot on kerosene; I learnt that using LPG is cheaper and now I will take advantage of it.” (NAN)