By Gabriel Ewepu, Abuja

AS huge population of Nigerians still engage in open defecation, the Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Engr Joseph Utsev, Friday, solicited media’s involvement to drive a new campaign to end open defecation, ‘Clean Nigeria, Use the Toilet’ Project.

Utsev made this known during a media interaction with correspondents covering the water and sanitation sector, tagged ‘Media Roundtable With Water Correspondents’ at the Ministry’s headquarters in Abuja.

He said within his 100 Days in office along with the Minister of State for Water Resources and Sanitation, Bello Goronyo, a lot of activities and achievements were recorded in the sector.

“According to him, the Songhai Integrated Model Farms, PEWASH Schemes, and other projects were inspected including flagging off of 2023/2024 dry season farming in all 12 River Basin. Development Authorities, RBDAs, collaborative visits of 16 State Governors to key into the programmes of the Ministry, development partners, traditional rulers for continued collaborations towards the acquisition of additional irrigable lands to boost agricultural production across the country.

He further stated that investors were called on for participation in the partial commercialization of the River Basins, and also to ascertain their functionality and contributions to the food security mandate of the Tinubu-led administration.

Also he said the Ministry observed the World Rivers Day, Global Hand Washing Day, World Toilet Day, and intensified campaign against open defecation.

He also made it known that there is an expected outcome to increase crop yields, economic growth, environmental sustainability, community empowerment and job creation on the heels of familiarization tours he embarked upon.

Meanwhile, he said the Ministry has set up a monitoring and evaluation framework including the development of Key Performance Indicators, KPIs, for measuring the deliverables that will assess the effectiveness of the irrigation strategies, track progress and achievements against set objectives.

He also maintained that the Ministry according to its plans for dams, irrigation, water quality and water supply in the coming years will be complete all ongoing projects and also ensure that the priority areas of the mandate of the Ministry are achieved in line with the ‘Renewed Hope’ Agenda of the President for the water and sanitation sector.

In the course of acknowledging and commending the role of the media in reporting the activities of the sector within the 100 days office he said the media was part of the success story today.

The Minister also said the best performing River Basin Development Authority would be given a ministerial award including incentives as a way of motivation to it and others to ensure the mandate of the Ministry is achieved.

He said; “On this project, the main actors of this project is you the participants that will drive it, we are talking about ‘Clean Nigeria, Use the Toilet’, and it is a campaign that has to go to all the crannies of this country, and the only person that can do that it is you people, journalists.

“Toilets will be constructed, and the campaign will be driven by the media. There are people who have toilets in their homes but they do not use them rather leave them to go and defecate outside, and what is the reason attitudinal, and we have to let them know they have to use these toilets, telling them they not using the toilets and defecating outside these are the disadvantages.

“We have 774 Local Government Areas in Nigeria, 105 are open defecation free. So how can we complete the rest, and that is the assignment for all of us.”

Meanwhile, the National Coordinator, Clean Nigeria Campaign, Use a Toilet, Chizoba Okpara, also explained that the focus will be on behavioural change, dangers of open defecation including more media activities across the 36 States on the campaign.