End to open defecation: LASG campaign berths in Apapa LGA

The Lagos State Government on Tuesday flagged off the Clean Nigeria: Use the Toilet campaign in the Apapa Local Government Area.

The initiative was part of the move to domesticate the eradication of open defecation nationwide by 2025.

Speaking during the event held at the Legislative Hall of the Apapa council, the Permanent Secretary, Office of Environmental Services, Gaji Omobolaji, said the campaign sought to promote the use of toilets and good hygiene practices in every community across the state and Nigeria.

Kunle Adeshina, the Director (Public Affairs), Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources, explained that the Permanent Secretary was represented by a Director in the office of Sanitation Services, Mr Babajide Adeoye, who said the state government inaugurated the campaign in the state during the 2020 World Toilet Day with a view to decentralizing the campaign in all local councils.

The PS added that on the 19th of November, 2022, during the World Toilet Day commemoration, the government started the campaign in three local councils across the Senatorial Districts in the state, comprising Ifako-Ijaiye, Ikorodu and Lagos Island LGAs.

He recalled that in 2018, former President Muhammadu Buhari had declared a state of emergency on open defecation and subsequently signed into law an Executive Order 009, “The Open Defecation-Free Nigeria by 2025 and Other Related Matters Order 2019.”

He added that the Federal Government set up a National Secretariat tagged “Clean Nigeria: Use the Toilet” campaign to drive the message through the 36 States of the Federation and Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

The statement added, “The state government’s mandate to eradicate Open Defecation is embedded in Pillar 1, Goal 2 of the Lagos Resilience Strategy Document which focused on “Improve Acess to Clean Water and Sanitation” through four initiatives

He added that the 4 initiatives were – provision of public toilets and bathrooms in each LGA amd Local Council Development Area; construction of community wastewater treatment plants; develop an integrated waste management system; expand and protect water sources to improve the city’s water supply.”

The PS was quoted as saying, “It is my hope that in view of the importance of this campaign to our national developmental process and meeting the goal of eradicating open defecation by 2025, I strongly believe that this campaign and other initiatives of this present administration will contribute to the success of the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) sector.”

He stated that Sensitization Technique is a driving tool in achieving

In her welcome address, the Chairman Apapa LGA, Adejomoke Senbanjo, said through research, indiscriminate defecation had noticeably increased within the metropolis.

She mentioned that it had been discovered that Petrol truck drivers, Motor boys and street traders were the main offenders of the nefarious act.

She urged stakeholders present to implement decisions reached at the meeting to ensure that open defecation was eradicated in Apapa Local GovernmentArea in particular and Lagos State at large.