Okwe Obi, Abuja
The Federal Government, has once again, reassured citizens that the country will never be number one in the world in terms of open defecation, saying that it is working assiduously to evade the tag.
This is even as the country is set to take over India in September this year.
But, Minister of Water Resources, Suleiman Adamu, who spoke at Stockholm, Sweden, on World Water Week, yesterday, said government had launched different campaign strategies to sensitise Nigerians on the dangers of practice.
In a statement signed by the Director, Press, Kenechukwu Offie, he said: “To start this process, the Federal Government had taken the initiative to immediately put in place interventions to end open defecation in our country. Following the visit of a Nigerian delegation to India to study the Swachh Bharat Mission earlier this year, we have established the Clean Nigeria: Use the Toilet Campaign. The goal is to end open defecation in Nigeria by 2025.”
“Upon the return of the President Buhari administration, two months ago, and my reappointment to the position of Minister of Water Resources, only last week, we have renewed our zeal to implement the National Action Plan and the priority actions and timeline for the emergency phase,” he said.
Adamu further urged Stockholm to initiate policies that would be beneficial to Nigeria.
“It is our resolve that our actions, going forward will be immediate and deliberate. I urge you all to give your focused attention and consideration to the possibility of establishing a program in Nigeria to support the actualization of the goal of the National Action Plan to end open defecation by 2025 and bring water, sanitation and hygiene to all Nigerians by 2030.
“Our goal is to listen to you and learn from you on what we need do as a Government to strengthen our existing partnerships and collaboration as well as build new international development cooperation and private sector relationships to enable us to achieve the SDG 6 in Nigeria,” he said.