By Christiana Ekpa
The Minister of state for environment Izhaq Adekunle Saleko on Thursday disclosed that 48 million Nigerians which represents 23 percent of total population still practice open defecation despite 2025 deadline to end open defecation while 159 million Nigerians are without washing hand facilities.
The Minister of State for environment equally insisted that the Federal government needs to construct 1 Million public toilets in public facilities across the country, adding that so far only five thousand toilets have been provided.
Saleko who revealed these when he appeared before the House of Representatives committee on Environment during an interactive session in Abuja, yesterday said Nigeria is lagging behind in putting an end to open defecation, stating that the Federal government in terms of funding cannot provide toilet for every Nigerian.
The Minister further explained that the Ministry has taken various steps to address the issue of open defecation in the country.
He said that the ministry has developed the National Environmental Sanitation Policy and its guidelines on sewage and Excreta management to guide the professional conduct on proper excreta disposal and control of open defecation in the country.
He further explained that the ministry has established sanitation desks in the 36 States’ Ministries of Environment and FCT to monitor and ensure proper environmental sanitation at the community and household levels by conducting routine sanitary inspections of premises, and sensitizing the public on dangers of open defecation and the importance of having access to toilet in residential and public places.
