Ekiti targets open defecation free status in 2022 ― Fayemi

The Governor of Ekiti State, Dr Kayode Fayemi, has declared that nothing would be spared by the state for the realiSation of Open Defecation Free (ODF) status for Ekiti in 2022.

Fayemi said the state had launched a roadmap to end open defecation by 2022, which involved partnering with critical stakeholders to have sustainable sanitation to protect the environment from pollution and degradation.

Fayemi said this in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital during a ceremony commemorating this year’s World Toilet Day according to a statement by the Commissioner for Infrastructure and Public Utilities, Bamidele Faparusi.

The governor noted that the government would soon begin aggressive construction of toilets in the capital city and other major towns to drive the ODF scheme.

Fayemi added that part of the strategies to achieve the set goals is the implementation of one-house-one- toilet policy, which would make it compulsory for all private, corporate and public buildings to have toilet and water facilities each.

The governor said the state’s partnership with United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), had necessitated the declaration of Ekiti West and Gbonyin Local government areas open defecation Free by international bodies.

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“We are mobilising everyone to take responsibility for the safe and hygienic disposal of faecal waste.  The government is committed to improving on its effort to make public toilet facilities available and accessible in strategic locations across the state.

“It is a fundamental right of everyone to have access to sustainable sanitation, alongside clean water and handwashing facilities, to help protect and maintain our health security and prevent the spread of deadly infectious diseases,; such as COVID-19, cholera, and typhoid.

“Our Water and Sanitation Hygiene (WASH) policy and legal framework demand that every building in the state in public, commercial or private sphere must have a decent functional toilet.

“And the government has set in motion the implementation framework, which extends to the enforcement of the law. we, therefore, urge every resident of Ekiti state to join the campaign and say no to open defecation,” Fayemi said.

NIGERIAN TRIBUNE