SULEIMAN Adamu, the Minister of Water Resources has stated that open defecation (ODF) in Nigeria will come to an end in 2025.

President Muhammadu Buhari in November 2019 signed Executive Order 009  titled ‘The Open Defecation-Free Nigeria by 2025 and Other Related Matters Order.’

The signing of the order was to ensure Nigeria becomes open defecation free by 2025.

At the time of signing the Executive Order, about 46 million Nigerians were said to practice open defecation making the country the second in the world with such unhealthy practice.

Only India ranked worse than Nigeria in the Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH NORM) survey conducted by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). The Nigerian Ministry of Water Resources and National Bureau of Statistics took part in the Nigerian survey.

The survey also found that only 11 of the 774 local government areas in Nigeria are free from the practice of open defecation.

Almost a year after the signing of the Executive Order, the Minister of Water Resources is still optimistic that the country would attain open defecation free status by 2025.

However, there are only 27 local governments in the country at the moment that have attained open defecation free status. The remaining 747 local governments out of the total 774 in the country still witness the practice of open defecation.

“Recall we had only one local government that was open-defecation free in 2017. As we are talking now, we have 27 councils and I am aware that 10 more are awaiting certification,” Adamu said.

He stated this at a ministerial press briefing to mark his one-year re-appointment in Abuja on Wednesday.

Adamu had argued that Nigeria’s progress in eradication of open defecation was slowed down by the COVID-19.

“The key thing is that once this campaign catches us, it will spread like bush fire,’’he said.

The minister revealed that not less than “10 more Local Government Areas are awaiting certification as they have met all ODF protocols.’’

But he did not state which Local Governments as well as states that are awaiting certification.

In promoting strategy, Adamu, disclosed that the recent collaboration with the National Orientation Agency (NOA) in its sensitisation campaigns will help spread the gospel of improved hygiene and curb open defecation in the country.

According to the 2018 National Outcome Routine Mapping (NORM) Report, 47 million Nigerians defecate in the open while the country loses N455 billion (US$ 1.3b) annually due to poor sanitation.

Adamu noted that the figures would reduce when the message of building and using toilets is rooted in the minds of Nigerians.

Executive Order 009, was established under the Federal Ministry of Water Resources’ “Clean Nigeria Campaign Secretariat.”

According to the Executive Order, the Secretariat is authorised to, on behalf of the President, ensure “that all public places including schools, hotels, fuel stations, places of worship, market places, hospitals and offices have accessible toilets and latrines within their premises”.

However, while speaking in a brief interview with The ICIR last year, the minister disclosed that most monies released to the ministry to curb open defecation were meant for awareness campaigns.

He said the government was only looking to promote the culture of toilet use, hence the ‘Clean Nigeria: Use the Toilet Campaign.

The ICIR in an earlier report showed how school children in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), still defecate in the open field because there are no functional toilet facilities within the school premises.