Shettima signs revised order to end open defecation

Says 2030 target within reach

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From Charity Nwakaudu, Abuja

Vice President Kashim Shettima has said Nigeria’s revised 2030 target to end open defecation is “within reach,” but warned that achieving it will require renewed energy, stronger coordination, and accountability at all levels.

Speaking in Abuja at the 6th Anniversary of the Clean Nigeria Campaign and the 2025 World Toilet Day commemoration, Shettima, represented by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Humanitarian Affairs, Inna Binta Audu, announced the signing of a revised Presidential Executive Order on Open Defecation-Free Nigeria, currently being gazetted.

He said the new Order strengthens the legal and institutional framework for sanitation delivery, expands private sector participation and introduces tougher monitoring, reporting and enforcement mechanisms. He added that access to sanitation is not a privilege but a fundamental human right and a key pillar of President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

The Vice President noted that the administration continues to prioritise Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) as the backbone of public health and human capital development, stressing that clean water and sanitation are vital to reducing disease, boosting school attendance, empowering women and girls and building resilient communities.

“Our work through the Clean Nigeria Campaign is not just about hygiene,” he said. “We are building dignity, creating jobs and improving livelihoods across the country.”

He described this year’s World Toilet Day theme, “Sanitation in a Changing World”, as timely, citing climate change, rapid urbanisation, population growth and emerging public-health threats as major pressures on sanitation systems. He called for climate-smart sanitation solutions, improved waste treatment technologies and systems that conserve water and protect the environment.

Shettima also commended state and local governments, traditional rulers, civil society groups, development partners and private sector players for their contributions to the Clean Nigeria Campaign, saying award recipients had “proven that leadership and service at every level make a difference.”

Looking ahead, he urged stakeholders to scale up investment in sanitation infrastructure, hygiene promotion and climate-resilient WASH services, reaffirming the Federal Government’s “unwavering commitment” to achieving an open defecation-free Nigeria by 2030.

“A cleaner Nigeria is within our grasp if we work together,” he said. “Let us translate policy into impact and commitment into lasting change.”

Earlier in his welcome address, Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Prof. Terlumun Utsev, reaffirmed the nation’s collective resolve to end open defecation. He revealed that 158 Local Government Areas have so far achieved open-defecation-free status and projected that at least 10 more states will join the two already certified ODF before the end of the year.

Prof. Utsev stressed that sanitation is not optional but essential, as it affects every aspect of human life. He urged Nigerians to serve as sanitation champions wherever they find themselves.

Meanwhile, the wife of the Kwara State Governor, Ambassador Professor Olufolake Abdulrazaq – First Lady of Kwara State and Chairperson of the Nigeria Governors’ Spouses Forum – reaffirmed Kwara State’s commitment to prioritising water and sanitation.