Nigeria targets 2025 to end open defecation

Suleiman Adamu

Minister of Water Resources, Suleiman Adamu, has said that Nigeria is targeting 2025 to end open defecation in the country just as he disclosed that the country presently has 38 local government areas that are Open Defecation Free, ODF.

Adamu, who spoke at the 1st anniversary of the “Clean Nigeria: Use the Toilet Campaign” on Thursday in Abuja, said the ODF feat was achieved from 2019 till date.

He reiterated the commitment of his ministry to building more partnerships and collaborations within and across sectors to ensure that deliberate and sustained attention needed to end open defecation in the country was in place.

The minister expressed optimism that the event would motivate states lagging behind to strive towards achieving the intended objectives of the Clean Nigeria Campaign.

“Over this one year period of the campaign, the number of ODF LGAs in the country has increased from 16 in 2019 to 38 as at November 2020.

“Additional six LGAs are in the process of being validated as ODF by the National Task Group on Sanitation,” Adamu said.

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He said that the ministry was able to achieve the feat despite limitations of the COVID-19 pandemic and commended all partners for their contributions to the achievement.

Adamu frowned at some states which were still not showing any appreciable progress or action in addressing Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) issues especially towards ending open defecation.

In his remarks, the Minister of Environment, Mahmood Abubakar, urged Nigerians to partner with stakeholders on ending open defecation, stressing that open defecation was detrimental to human well-being.

Representative of the Organized Private Sector in Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (OPS-WASH), Nicholas Igwe,
commended the Ministry of Water Resources for the support in the fight against open defecation as well as the launch of OPS-WASH Project “Flushit’’ at the anniversary celebration.

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo commended the Ministry of Water Resources for complying with the Executive Order on ODF and urged that efforts to end open defecation be put into effect by 2025.

He therefore advised that all public places such as markets, offices and worship centres must have accessible toilets within their premises to end open defecation.