…says 142 LGAs open defecation-free out of 774

By Gabriel Ewepu

ABUJA – AS Nigerians continue to experience waterborne diseases, the Federal Government, Wednesday, demanded the 36 States and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, develop an action plan to end Open Defecation by 2030 to safeguard the health of Nigerians.

The Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Engr Joseph Utsev, made the call in a keynote address delivered at the ‘National Retreat for States on the Clean Nigeria: Use the Toilet Campaign’ in Abuja.

Utsev said Nigerians live in the States and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, therefore it is mandatory to make life meaningful for them with the holistic awareness creation to end open defecation, while at the national the Ministry is putting all mechanisms in place to support the sub-nationals to carry the campaign to the nook and crannies of the local governments and communities.

He also encouraged the states including the FCT yet to attain the open defecation free status to take deliberate measures while supporting Nigeria to attain upon defecation-free status, and he added that both the national and sub-nationals are to commitment towards re-measurable actions that will create a legacy where every Nigerian will have access to a safe, dignified situation that will make sanitation very efficient, therefore, to achieve this, there is a need to ensure the systemic sustainability of open defecation-free efforts by strengthening, monitoring, enforcement, and behavioural change initiatives, increasing investment in public and household sanitation facilities, particularly in the schools, healthcare facilities, and public places by equipping them with the facilities that will make the country an open defecation-free nation.

The Clean Nigeria Campaign, CNC, was launched in 2019 and backed by the Presidential Executive Order 9, as a transformative movement to end open defecation in Nigeria.

The retreat has in attendance, the 36 State Commissioners for Water and Sanitation, and General Managers of State Agencies responsible for Sanitation in the Rural, Small Town and Urban Areas including the Federal Capital Territory, as well as development and private sector partners.

He said: “It is a fact that when the incidence of open defecation is reduced, we are equally decreasing waterborne diseases, improving the living environment for children and creating healthier safer communities for all Nigerians.

“Therefore, the need to prioritize the Clean Nigeria Campaign cannot be overemphasized as we work towards improving the quality of life for our dear people.

“The administration of His Excellency President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR, has continued to demonstrate commitment to the aspiration of the Clean Nigeria campaign with the re-inauguration of his chairing committee in July 2024 under the leadership of His Excellency Vice President Senator Kashim Shettima, and the launch of a Revised Implementation Strategy for the Campaign.

“This is to fast-track the delivery of results under the campaign and accelerate the attainment of an open defecation-free Nigeria, now targeted at 2030. The Clean Nigeria Campaign revised implementation strategy is a roadmap designed to guide stakeholders at achieving the critical goal of open defecation-free Nigeria. It is anchored on six strategic pillars which are intended to address the bottlenecks identified during the implementation of the campaign and accelerate the goal’s achievement.

“The Clean Nigeria campaign is a call to action, a call for collaboration and partnership, a call for innovation, a call of all levels, both at the national and sub-nationals, to put our hands on deck. We have about 774 local governments in Nigeria. Out of the 774 local governments we have, so far 142 are Open Defecation-free, Jigawa State being the only state that is open defecation-free.

“Our belief and our appeal and the calling is that we are all here. All the actors to drive this campaign, we are here. It is our duty, it is our role to move this campaign forward.”

However, the Minister lamented that existing gap in the allocation of required human and financial resources to drive this campaign across the states and local governments, who are responsible for driving the campaign at the sub-national level, has rendered the system less active.

Earlier, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry Water Resources and Sanitation, Richard Pheelangwah who was represented by the Director, Reforms, Jo Moses Madugu, pointed out that the move to end open defecation demands “strong political will, strategic collaboration, and sustained action at every level.”

Speaking on behalf of the 36 State Commissioners for Water, the Gombe State Commissioner for Water Resources Resources, Mohammed Fawu, said the Open Defecation supposed to end in 2025 but that could not be achieved therefore, there is the need to reflect and resolve to ensure it is ended by the new target year of 2030, and noted that only Jigawa State is currently the only open-defecation free state, but the rest states and FCT needs to look at the silver bullet Jigawa State used to achieve their target, and replicate that in all the States

“I hope by 2030, I hope we will be able to achieve an open defecation free country, and there is no reason why we cannot achieve them if the right thing is done”, he added.