The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has reported that approximately 67.8 percent of Nigerian households use fuelwood as a primary source of energy for various purposes, including domestic, agricultural, commercial, cultural, or religious activities. This finding is part of the Nigeria Residential Energy Demand-Side Survey (NREDSS) 2024, released on Wednesday in Abuja.
The survey covered selected states across all six geopolitical zones of the country, including Akwa Ibom, Bauchi, Ekiti, Oyo, Enugu, Kwara, Plateau, Kano, and Sokoto.
According to the report, around 41 percent of households reported purchasing fuelwood, while 39 percent stated they cut or collected it themselves. Additionally, 18.9 percent of households utilized other means such as barter, gifts, or borrowing to acquire fuelwood. Notably, over half of the fuelwood collected (approximately 55.3 percent) consisted of branches, stems, and trees.
The survey also indicated that 22 percent of households used charcoal during the reference period, with 21.6 percent purchasing it, while only 0.3 percent and 0.6 percent sourced it through self-production and other means, respectively.
Furthermore, the NBS reported that 19.4 percent of households utilized Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), suggesting that about one in every five households in Nigeria employs LPG for their energy needs.