By Bisola Adeyemo
The Minister of Water Resources, Engr. Suleiman Adamu, has urged all states to join forces with the ministry to fight open defecation in Nigeria for better achievement in nations ODF target for 2025.
Adamu made the call at the just completed 28th Regular Meeting of the National Council on Water Resources (NCWR) with the theme “Emerging Financial And Management Challenges For Sustainable Water Infrastructure in Nigeria” in Abuja on Tuesday.
According to him, Nigeria has a Roadmap for Ending Open Defecation by 2025, with a goal for every Nigerian to have access to good sanitation and attain 100%coverage of improved sanitation nationally.
Adamu said, “State governments need to key into these programmes. What we are saying is that, the key to the success of this open defecation campaign is on how much state actors are willing to prioritise it to give it all the political support that it is getting at the national level.
“If the political will at the national level is similarly obtained at the state level, I think we can quickly get rid of this problem, but if we at the national level are driving a program and it is not getting the same push at the state and local government levels, then that is a huge challenge.
“We are monitoring how much states have fared in terms of improving access to potable water toilets and hand washing.
“I believe that at some point, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) may come on board, naming and shaming activities may begin to unfold just the same way it is happening in India.
“Kids were given whistles, if they fund anyone defecating openly, they would blow the whistles and harass them to stop, that was how the ODF was achieved.”
Speaking on the completion and ongoing of hydropower projects being prepared to add 2,672 megawatts of electricity to the national grid, Adamu outlined nine projects located in five states which are; Kaduna, Taraba, Gombe, Benue, and Nasarawa.
They include the 30MW Gurara I hydropower project in Kaduna, completed and put on concession; 360MW Gurara II plant, also in Kaduna, with its engineering, procurement, and construction contract already awarded.
Others are the Kashimbila, Dadin-Kowa, and Itis hydropower projects with capacities for 40MW each and located in Taraba, Gombe, and Kaduna state respectively.
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