Jigawa State is the first in Nigeria to be declared Open Defecation Free (ODF) by the Federal Government.
This was disclosed in Abuja at a media briefing in advance of the World Toilet Summit scheduled for November 18–19, 2022, by Engr. Suleiman Adamu, Minister of Water Resources.
Adamu praised the Jigawa State Government for pulling off the achievement thanks to the State's unwavering dedication and commitment to eradicating ODF.
The minister emphasised the Federal Government's ongoing commitment to ending open defecation in Nigeria and added that just 85 Local Government Areas have been classified as ODF at this time.
He said: “I affirm here that Nigeria is committed to ending open defecation and it is noteworthy that in 2017 we had only one local government area that is Open defecation Free.
“As of today, we have 85 Local Government Areas certified open defecation free.
“It might interest you to note that Jigawa State has blazed the trail as the first State to become ODF.
“They deserve commendation for their dedication to the work of becoming ODF. I will also commend the CNC team and UNICEF for their steadfastness to the campaign.
“We are not resting on our oars as we will continue to work tirelessly in ensuring that all the 774 LGAs in the country are open defecation free.”
On the forthcoming World Toilet Summit 2022 which Nigeria was granted the hosting rights, Adamu said the two-day event “is a unique global platform in which stakeholders, non-governmental organisations, development partners and high-level decision makers would come together to better strategise and address in-country sanitation challenges, proffer solutions that will help to resolve the issues around Open Defecation.
The minister who enumerated the gains of playing host to the Summit, said “the Summit will be a game-changing one in support of President Mohammadu Buhari’s vision of making Nigeria Open
Defecation Free come 2025 as part of the dividends of democracy to Nigerians.”
According to him, “This is a global event which will provide an excellent opportunity
to bring greater visibility to the issue of ending open defecation in Nigeria and it is expected to enhance Nigeria’s capability to be better equipped towards meeting the target of ending open defecation by 2025.
“It will be recalled that the National Campaign to End Open Defecation was approved by Federal Executive Council (FEC) on May 8, 2019, with the aim of mobilising all strata of society in fighting the menace of open defecation.
“About 48 million people were said to be defecating in the open, according to Water, Sanitation and Hygiene National Routine Mapping Survey (WASH NORM).
“It is also a perfect opportunity to mobilise national engagement in the sector by different stakeholders, especially the private sector.
“The Summit will showcase lively discussions on behavioural change, new sanitation projects and programmes, keynote speeches and thought-provoking conversations about global best practices, exhibitions of new sanitation innovations, and share past experiences of other countries that have benefitted from hosting the Summit.”
The minister who expressed optimism that Nigeria would be much better after hosting the global event added that “the World Toilet Summit aims at facilitating global conversation around the creation of sustainable sanitation markets that will actively stimulate economic growth within the sanitation value chain, expose the financial gains inherent in sanitation technology and encourage private sector innovation.”
In her welcome address, Mrs Didi Walson-Jack, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, explained that the World Toilet Organization on February 22nd, 2022 announced the selection of Nigeria as the host country of the 2022 World Toilet Summit.
Walson-Jack said this event is expected to enable participants, exhibitors and other stakeholders in the water and sanitation sector, to have a wider range of visions within the sanitation value chain.