The Minister of Water Resources, Suleiman Adamu, has said states’ attitude and poor governance culture in the water and sanitation sector may affect the realisation of the Open Defecation-Free (ODF) target set for the country by 2025.
Adamu said this at the opening of the national retreat for states on “Clean Nigeria: Use the Toilet” campaign in Abuja on Monday.
He said there was the need for states to show more commitment by complementing the effort of the federal government in meeting the national ODF target by 2025.
He said, “Some states are still upcoming. Katsina is hopefully going to be the next one, but there are states where there’s virtually no progress at all, that’s why every time we need to review the situation from time to time and find a way to encourage the states.
“We have given every support and we will continue to provide that support, but we need that political level, the highest level in the states, for the country to have a lot of traction.
“But I keep saying, once you have the political will as a people, take this campaign as theirs, they own it, it’s going to go on autopilot.
“So, what we are waiting for is for the nation, not only the state governments, but the people themselves, to own this campaign, to understand that sanitation is a personal obligation.”
The minister noted the need to revisit all strategies and goals on ending open defecation and address the funding gaps, saying this would change the poor narrative.
Mr Oumar Doumbouya, UNICEF’s Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Specialist, said it was impressive that Nigeria was able to attain over 100 ODF LGAs.
This, he noted, was a huge achievement even for the West African Region as Nigeria held a critical part of the region.