The Minister of Environment, Balarabe Abbas Lawal, has said that 48 million Nigerians engage in open defecation and the country needs to build 3.9 million toilets annually, so as to end open defecation.
Lawal stated this on Thursday, at a public hearing organised by the House of Representatives Committees on Environment, Water Resources, Works, Ecological Funds, Emergency and Disaster Preparedness.
The minister, who was represented by the Minister of State, Ishaq Salako, said according to latest statistics, a total of 48 million Nigerians currently engage in open defecation.
He expressed concern that if urgent steps are taken to address the issue , country will not be to meet the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of eliminating open defecation by 2030
“As at 2022 UNICEF identified that up to 48 million Nigerians still practise open defecation.
“And it is projected that to be able to bring those 48 million from the practice of open defecation, we need to be constructing at least 3.9 million toilets on an annual basis.”
“This responsibility as I said does not rest with the federal government alone. It rests mostly with the sub nationals and the local government and of course private individuals.”
“One of the key elements of doubt is that it is the state government that gives planning approvals and we expect that for planning approvals to be given, toilet facilities must be ensured and monitored that they are constructed, “the minister stated.
Similarly, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Water Resources, Aliyu Shinkah, said the ministry had planned
to construct 43,000 toilets but only succeeded in building only 5004 units, owing to paucity of funds.
According to him, out of N63.3 billion earmarked for a six year programme to tackle the problem, only N4.1 billion was released to the Ministry.
“According to the road map, 43,000 toilets are required across the country.”
“But currently the reality is that 48 million people are practising open defecation nationwide thereby requiring a minimum of one million toilets across the country. As of today 5004 have been constructed across the country in public places.”
“When the President signed the order, it came with an approval of 63.6 billion to be spread over the six years when the programme to end open defecation would last but to date what has been received is not up to an annual allocation.
“The sum was for six years at 10.6 billion per year but today only N4.5 billion was appropriated and N4.1 billion was released,” he stated.
Earlier, the speaker of the House of Representative, Tajudeen Abbas, while declaring the hearing open, said the growing incidence of open defecation in the country is a health risk.
Abbas, who was represented by the Minority Leader, Kingsley Chinda, said every citizen should have access to facilities that enable them to maintain good sanitation and hygiene.
“In doing so, we are ensuring that our fellow Nigerians are protected not only in terms of public health but also in the dignity of our fundamental human rights,” the speaker said.