The Energy Commission of Nigeria (ECN) has said Nigerian women should be accorded more to mitigate cooking challenges and improve on health and environmental degradation through clean cooking stoves in the country.

The director-general of the commission, Dr Mustapha Abdullahi, said this in Abuja at the opening of the gender sensitisation training on the adoption of clean cooking solutions organised for women.

The two-day programme focuses on clean cookstoves for sustainable energy development for women aimed at addressing energy challenges through a gender-sensitive lens.

Abdullahi said the programme would enhance the socio-economic well-being of women and their families.

"This workshop serves as a platform for knowledge exchange, capacity building, and collaborative action towards promoting the widespread adoption of clean cooking solutions. This is tailored to the needs and realities of women who bear the brunt of air pollution from the traditional method of cooking," he said.

He also said the training underscored the commission's commitment to mainstreaming gender considerations in energy policies and initiatives, adding that women were not only disproportionately affected by energy poverty.

In his remarks, the Director-General, Small and Medium Enterprise Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Dr Charles Odii, said the adoption of innovation and technology would bring about significant advancement and breakthroughs in various fields.

Odii, represented by the Assistant Chief Enterprise Officer, Mrs Idorenyi Etim, assured of the continued and mutual relationship between SMEDAN and ECN for the growth and development of the nation's Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sub-sector.