Take Open Defecation-Free campaign to grassroots says FG

On May 12, 2023

The Federal government through the Minister of Water Resources, Alhaji Suleiman Adamu, has called on all stakeholders to take the Open Defecation-Free (ODF) campaign to all grassroots.

Adamu who made this call at his valedictory meeting with newsmen in Abuja, said all sensitisation campaigns ought to be people-centred.

According to him, current efforts to rid Nigeria of public defecation will gain more momentum when they are community-based.

He said that there was need to move from conventional media channels of television and billboards, to traditional channels of radio and town criers, especially in rural communities.

“The ODF blueprint is ongoing, and we want the campaigns to be in the grassroots, using radio and other means.

“The ODF message must be community-based and people-centred, this will make current efforts have lasting impact,” he said.

According to the minister, there is need for political support from states to cascade Federal Government’s policies to the people, who are the direct beneficiaries.

He also called for collective responsibility and ownership from all stakeholders, so that the huge investments in the sector would not go to waste.

On the National Water Resources Bill pending at the National Assembly, the minister said that there was nothing new in its provisions, as 96 per cent of the contents were already existing.

In his words, “As a government, we are committed to our job to improve the lives of Nigerians, it’s on that basis that we are aggressive about the passage of the water bill,” he added.

He also stressed the need for alternative sources to fund the sector and its projects, saying they were capital-intensive and that the Federal government could not fund that alone.

Wumi/NAN