The Minister of Women Affairs, Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, has raised concern over the alarming number of Nigerian women over 80,000 who die annually from toxic smoke inhalation caused by traditional cooking methods such as firewood and kerosene stoves.
Speaking during a stakeholders' engagement on women's access to clean energy in Abuja, the minister decried the social and economic burden energy poverty places on rural women, calling it a form of social injustice.
“Energy poverty is not just a technical challenge; it is a social injustice,”; she said. “It traps women in cycles of unpaid labour, economic dependence, and health risks. In many communities, women spend up to eight hours a week gathering firewood.”;
Sulaiman-Ibrahim called for urgent collaboration among stakeholders in the energy sector to deliver cleaner and safer alternatives to women, particularly in underserved communities. She also unveiled a new initiative to provide solar-powered solutions for both household and agricultural use.
“Through this initiative, we will provide energy access via solar home systems, clean cooking technologies, solar water pumps, e-mobility tools, and other productive-use appliances in every corner of the nation,”; she said.
The meeting also featured key interventions from the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) and the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI), highlighting ongoing efforts to close the energy access gap.
REA Managing Director, Abba Abubakar-Aliyu, revealed that the $550 million Nigerian Electrification Project has already reached approximately eight million Nigerians and 35,000 businesses, including 12,000 women-led enterprises. He added that President Bola Tinubu has approved a fresh $750 million off-grid power project, with a significant portion earmarked for mini-grids and solar home systems.
“So, there is a huge opportunity for us to replicate and scale this intervention across the country,”; he said.
Also speaking at the event, NASENI Executive Vice Chairman, Khalil Halilu—represented by Dr. Olayode Olasupo—reiterated the disproportionate impact of energy poverty on rural women.
“Poverty ranges from a lack of access to clean energy for cooking to limited access to energy for lighting and other essential social systems. This, in turn, restricts access to critical services, limits economic opportunities, and compromises health and safety,”; he said.
Stakeholders at the event emphasized the need for gender-sensitive energy policies and sustainable financing models to ensure equitable access to clean energy, especially for women in remote and rural areas.
