Nasarawa state bans charcoal

Amid hike in cooking gas, the Government of Nasarawa State has placed a ban on the sale and use of charcoal in the State in a bid to protect the environment.

This ban was disclosed at a press briefing in Lafia during the weekend by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, Mr Aliyu Agwai.

According to Aliyu, the process of producing charcoal is harmful to the environment, stressing that it possesses the ability of destroying the climate and increasing global warming.

The Permanent Secretary noted that burning of charcoal, especially, would produce harmful emission capable of affecting health of residents.

“Cutting trees can result in the loss of habitat for animal species, which can harm the ecosystems.

“Almost all the land animals and plants live in forests and many cannot survive the deforestation that destroys their homes,” he added.

He warned those selling and using charcoal to desist to avoid prosecution.

It has been observed that the price of 12.5kg cooking gas which was hitherto sold for N6,000 currently stands at N8,500 and above which has forced many Nigerians to the use of charcoal as an alternative.

Charcoal is a lightweight black carbon residue produced by strongly heating wood (or other animal and plant materials) in minimal oxygen to remove all water and volatile constituents.