Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, has announced that Ekiti would be free from open defecation by 2022 Nature News reports.
The governor made this statement on Monday at Ado Ekiti, the state capital during a World Toilet Day event via his Commissioner for Infrastructure and Public Utilities, Mr Bamidele Faparusi.
Fayemi explained that the roadmap will involve all critical stakeholders to have sustainable sanitation and protect the environment from pollution and degradation.
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The statement quoted Fayemi as saying that the government would soon begin aggressive construction of toilets under a policy of one-house-one-toilet in the capital city and other major towns to end open defecation in the state.
By the policy, it would be compulsory for all private, corporate and public buildings to have toilet and water facilities.
The governor said the state’s partnership with UNICEF has paid off as Ekiti West and Gbonyin Local government areas of the state are declared free from Open Defecation.
“We are mobilising everyone to take responsibility for safe and hygienic disposal of faecal waste. The government is committed to improving its efforts on making public toilets available and accessible in strategic locations across the state.
“It is a fundamental right for 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 and legal framework demands that every buildings 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.”