As Nigeria leads in global open defecation practice

By Gabriel Ewepu

THE Minister of Water Resources, Engr Suleiman Adamu, at the weekend urged the Federal Capital Territory Administration, FCTA, to make open defecation and reckless urination an offence.

File: Open-Defecation

This was contained in a statement signed by the Director, Information Department, Federal Ministry of Water Resources, Kenechukwu Offie, where Adamu said this during a courtesy visit to the Minister of FCT, Mohammad Bello, as part of a robust National Action Plan to secure the buy-in of all stakeholders including state governors which is hinged on governance, sustainability, sanitation, funding monitoring and evaluation.

According to him the Federal Executive Council, FEC, have approved to carry out a “Clean Nigeria: Use The Toilet Campaign” with roles and responsibilities assigned to states and FCT, which includes in part for developing and implementing a national campaign/transformational sanitation promotion agenda to end Open Defecation, ODF in Nigeria by 2025.

He said: “Declare state of emergency with clear communication of state-specific plans, create the required enabling environment and build sector capacities and ensure the establishment of a regulatory mechanism for the local monitoring of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene, WASH, activities and subsequent reporting to Area Councils.

“FCT administration should key into programmes and initiatives of the Federal Ministry of Water Resources, participate in programmes such Global Hand Washing Day Commemoration and World Water Week which the Ministry recently participated in, in Stockholm, Sweden.

“The FCT administration should mobilize Civil Society Organizations, CSOs, to develop an effective policy, and to legislate against Open Defecation and reckless urination practices as Nasarawa State had done.”

He (Adamu) also appealed to the FCT Minister to invest a minimum of three times in the current WASH investment level and improve revenue collection to ensure that institutions pay tariffs owed for water supply and sanitation services.

Meanwhile, he maintained that with current efforts by the government and development partners, Nigeria would be able to reduce the high statistics of being the country with the highest number of people practising open defecation.

While responding, the FCT Minister, Mohammad Bello, commended the Water Resources Minister for his re-appointment and his giant strides in the Water Ministry.

Bello also disclosed that his Ministry had been partnering with Federal Ministry of Water Resources and has keyed into the sanitation agenda and gone ahead to identify locations in the FCT, which are to the site to establish public toilets that would be powered by solar energy in partnership with the private sector.

He further said his Ministry would coordinate current sanitation programmes and also collaborate with the Federal Ministry of Water Resources on the sanitation agenda.

Vanguard