A bio-fuel practitioner, Mr Hussaini Solomon, has urged the Federal Government to adopt a policy to encourage the masses to take interest in refining bio-fuel to reduce dependence on petroleum products
Solomon, the Managing Director of the Biodiesel Nigeria Limited, told newsmen in Abuja last Monday that it was easy to establish bio-fuel refineries  because it did not require heavy machinery or intensive capital to start.
According to him,  every home in Nigeria can have a bio-fuel refinery,  thereby halting the over-dependence on petroleum products.
Solomon said Nigerians had no business being idle or unemployed.
Solomon said, “Every household can own a bio-fuel refinery. I have a farm in Dekina, Kogi State and the electricity is generated from my plants; from producing bio-fuels, power my farm and my whole community.
“The technology is not cumbersome; all that is required is policy, will of government and the private sector and we are good to go.
“We supply places like MTN and for years we’ve not had any complaints because another thing is that it burns slower.
“We can have resource control domiciled in each family in the country. It can be planted on 10 hectares and four million could be made every year for 50 years without replanting.’’
Solomon urged the millions of unemployed undergraduates and corps members in the nation to key into the project, saying “it is profitable and sustainable”.
Mrs Grace Ogolo, Managing Director, Cleantech Nigeria Initiative, also said that she had taken a good look at the draft policy on biofuel and was excited that it was gender-friendly.
“Since there is a large population of women farmers in the country, it will benefit women more. The policy is gender sensitive, creating opportunities for women to be part of it.
“Women should buy into it and not leave it like the oil and gas sector. Women can be refiners of bio-fuel.
“Bio-fuel is the next cash cow; it can boost income, especially for women and does not require complex or technical machinery,’’ Ogolo said.
The Acting Executive Secretary of the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency, (PPPRA), Mr Victor Shidok, had said with right policies in place, Nigeria would begin production of bio-fuels to augment petrol imports.
Shidok said the policy was part of efforts to diversify Nigeria’s energy sources and respect global convention on climate change with the inclusion of alternative clean options.
“Biofuels simply comprise  bioethanol and biodiesel which are blends of petroleum products and agricultural products.
“Bioethanol, E-10 for instance, is a blend of 90 per cent gasoline and 10 per cent ethanol, while biodiesel B-20 is a blend of 80 per cent diesel and 20 per cent oil from Jathropha, used palm oil,” he said.
Shidok said when production would begin, the agency would demand that for every litre of petrol sold, 10 per cent of ethanol would be added to it and 20 per cent of oil from Jathropha or used palm oil to diesel.