The Federal Government has revealed that blending bioethanol with Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) could save Nigeria more than ₦3 trillion in foreign exchange every year, while reducing reliance on imported fuel and boosting domestic agricultural and industrial value chains.
Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, disclosed this at a capacity-building workshop in Enugu for stakeholders on the Cassava Bioethanol Value Chain Development Project for the South East zone. He was represented by the ministry’s Director of Economic Growth, Mr Auwal Mohammed.
Bagudu said the shift to locally produced bioethanol would place millions of smallholder farmers at the centre of a new growth strategy for the cassava sector. The government has begun initiatives to empower about 14 million farmers to participate across the cassava value chain under the project.
He noted that the programme aligns with the national Bio-Economy Policy, which seeks to move beyond simple ethanol production and consumption towards a circular economy model. “We are looking at the entire value chain, from high-quality stems and starch to the CO₂ captured during fermentation and the animal feeds produced from distillery grains,” he said.
The minister added that the initiative is expected to deepen local industrial capacity, create jobs, and strengthen Nigeria’s energy security.
