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Wole Balogun, Ado Ekiti
With the intention to make Ekiti open defecation free in 2021, the state government has partnered with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF); to end the environmental menace.
Speaking with newsmen in Ado Ekiti, yesterday, Commissioner for Public Utilities and Infrastructure, Bamidele Faparusi, said the memorandum of understanding with UNICEF was reached following damning reports that Ekiti is the second in open defecation practise in the country.
Faparusi said UNICEF had used Ekiti West and Gboyin local governments for the pilot scheme and that the two councils are almost zero free with the provision of low cost toilet facility at every household.
To this end, Faparusi said government will soon begin construction of pubic toilets across the 16 local government areas of the state.
He said the state’s Rural Water Sanitation Agency (RUWASA) has done a baseline studies that will help the government in kickstarting the programme.
“We are working on the data provided by RUWASA and we shall work on it to be able to know the number of facilities to provide.
“Open Defecation is dangerous to our hygiene and health, so, we need to fight it headlong.
“It is an age long practise; it can’t cannot stop in a day. We are also planning a sewage processing facilities in Ado Ekiti metropolis that will enhance sanitation. We have a special roadmap to tackle these problems,” said Faparusi.
