The Jigawa State government has announced that it has spent N500 million to install improved toilets in schools, hospitals, markets, and motor parks in the state.
Alhaji Ibrahim Hanungiwa, Commissioner for Water Resources, said in Dutse on Wednesday, November 1.
Commissioner Hanungiwa said the government is taking proactive measures to maintain its leading status as an Open Defecation Free (ODF) state.
According to Hanungiwa, the province aims to exceed the national ODF target by 2025.
This feat, Hanungiwa said, has been achieved through a lot of hard work and implementation of viable policies and programs in collaboration with the federal Ministry of Water Resources and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
The commissioner said the state has established a committee to sustain its ODF status and will look into ways to completely eradicate the ODF threat.
He said: “Under this committee, more standard public toilets will be installed in public places and along highways in the state.
The state government has done a lot in educating the public about the importance of toilets, especially in rural areas.
Jigawa State has been declared the first and so far only open defecation-free state in the country by UNICEF,” he said, adding that the UN agency has appointed Governor Umar Namadi as ODF Ambassador.
Governor Namadi is scheduled to make a presentation on Nigeria’s status in the fight against ODF at an upcoming conference in Canada.
