Minister of Water Resources Declares War on Open Defecation

Folalumi Alaran in Abuja

The Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Prof. Joseph Utsev, has unveiled plans to combat open defecation in 669 local government areas in the country, emphasising on the need for a behavioral change campaign, and stated that only 105 local government areas are currently open-defecation-free.

Prof Utsev, who disclosed this during a media roundtable in Abuja recently, expressed concern about citizens’ reluctance to use available toilets, calling for a national effort to address the sanitation crisis.

The minister pledged to construct toilets across local government areas and emphasised the importance of a targeted monthly approach to achieve open-defecation-free status.

He said: “Toilets are going to be constructed for people to use, but you will be surprised that some people will still not use the toilets.

“They have the toilets, but they will leave their toilets and defecate outside. The campaign will get to such people for them to know that they need to use those toilets.

“We have 774 local government areas in Nigeria, but only 105 are open defecation-free, so how can we complete the remaining ones? This is the assignment for all of us. We need to target a specific number of local government areas monthly.”

Speaking on the ministry’s achievements in the first hundred days in office, the minister disclosed that during his nationwide familiarisation tour of the 12 River Basin Development Authority, he flagged off the dry season farming for all the RBDAS in Benin-city, Edo State.

He said: “Having already visited 16 state governors, we pledged to continue seeking partnerships to enhance sanitation and agricultural productivity.”

Also, in a bid to recognise excellence, the minister announced the upcoming Ministerial Excellence Award for the best-performing managing director among the twelve river basin development authorities.

Utsev said the award aims to acknowledge outstanding contributions to environmental sustainability, job creation, and economic growth.