Open defecation: FG to build 10,000 public toilets in Abuja

Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) says it will embark on aggressive construction of public toilets in strategic areas to tackle the menace of open defecation in the country’s administrative capital.

The acting Director, FCT Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency, Mohammed Dan-Hassan, made this known at a sensitisation programme for residents on the risks of open defecation, on Monday in Abuja.

Mr Dan-Hassan said President Muhammadu Buhari had in 2018 launched emergency on water sanitation and hygiene in the country, signalling the declaration of emergency on open defecation in the 36 states of the federation and the FCT.

He said that in actualisation of the president’s directives, the construction of the toilets was one of the roadmaps to end open defecation in the territory by 2025, which was in consonance with the federal and global targets.

“There is an Executive Order 009 which in 2018, President Muhammadu Buhari launched an emergency on water sanitation and hygiene which means declaration all over the country on hygiene, so FCT is not an exception.

“Our agency, RUWASSA which is responsible for all this with the support from donor agencies and development partners, will construct 10,000 public toilets in strategic locations in the territory,” he said.

The director said that the toilets would bring about improvement in safe water and sanitation in every locality in the city.

He said about 29 to 30 per cent of the FCT population practice open defecation, and there was need for massive construction of public toilets to halt the situation.

Mr Dan-Hassan said that the agency was not only going to construct the toilets but would ensure that there was behavioural change among the residents.

“When the facilities are there, the people should use them properly by maintaining them. The people must have a change of attitude about public toilet considering the importance,” He said.

Earlier, Aisha Bakpet, the Head of Sanitation Department of the agency, assured that the agency would continue to intensify education and awareness campaign across the territory to ensure that residents embrace the use of toilet.

(NAN)