Environment

Open Defecation: NGO Advocates Water Availability

Published

10 years ago

March 7, 2016

The Programme Manager,
Concern Universal Nigeria, Mr Nanpet Chuktu, said on Tuesday that communities cannot achieve an open defecation free status without availability of water.
Chuktu told newsmen in Abuja that the role water plays in any society could not be over emphasised.
According to him, with availability of water, communities practicing behavioural change through CLTS could achieve an open defecation-free status easily.
He said that there was the need for all tiers of government to improve allocation of appropriate resources for scaling up sanitation and hygiene.
Chuktu said it was a matter for regret that diarrhoea alone kills no fewer than 150,000 under-five children annually.
According to the programme manager, for the poorest Nigerians, diarrhoea is responsible for one-quarter of all child deaths.
Chuktu said that the group was focusing on expanding its WASH programming in the South-East states, saying it was one of the regions mostly affected by diseases related to poor water.
Chuktu said since its interventions in Benue and Cross River states, no fewer than 820 communities had claimed open-defecation-free (ODF) status, with 210,725 people gaining access to improved sanitation.
He said landlords and tenants has begun constructing toilets in their homes, within four years of implementing the RUSHPIN programme in some communities in Cross River state.
This, he said could be replicated in other communities when all stakeholders put deliberate policies in place to enable more people live healthier.
He said the group introduced the CLTS which empowers all communities to collectively change their sanitation and hygiene behaviour and ensure that every community member uses a toilet and practices good hygiene.
Chuktu said Benue and Cross River states’ delay to pay up their counterpart funding was still a challenge to scaling up sanitation and hygiene in more Local Government Areas in the two states.
He stressed the need for this to be done, to reduce the increasing rate of open defecation and its effects to its po
The RUSHPIN is an initiative of Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Water Resources and the Global Sanitation Fund, the grant giving body of the UN WSSCC.
The innovation sees international funding matched by national, regional and local funding, setting a framework for replication to achieve the national target of ending open defecation in Nigeria by 2025.

Environment

Lagos State Government Refuted Resumed Monthly Sanitation

Published

2 days ago

February 23, 2026

The Tide

The Lagos State Government on Saturday refuted an online media report claiming that the state had resumed the monthly environmental sanitation exercise.

The Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Mr Tokunbo Wahab, said no categorical statement had been made regarding the commencement date of the exercise.

Wahab explained that what he told newsmen after a project inspection tour last Sunday was that engagements with relevant stakeholders were still ongoing.

He said the state government had planned to begin with a sensitisation programme last week, but was constrained by logistics issues.

“The truth is, we were meant to start with a sensitisation programme last week, but we had a logistics issue. We need to find a day that is acceptable to all stakeholders,” he said.

He expressed optimism that the exercise might return very soon, adding that the official date would be communicated by the Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu.

The commissioner urged law-abiding residents to continue their lawful activities without hindrance, assuring them that adequate notice would be given before the exercise was reintroduced.

The monthly environmental sanitation, previously held on the last Saturday of every month between 7.00 a.m. and 10.00 a.m., was suspended in November 2016 following a legal pronouncement restricting movement during the exercise.

However, renewed waste management challenges, including clogged drainage channels and indiscriminate refuse disposal, have sparked calls from residents for its reinstatement.

Environment

RIWAMA In Collaboration With Obio Akpo And Port Harcourt LGA Ban Dumping Of Refuse On Road Side

Published

2 days ago

February 23, 2026

The Tide

The Rivers State Waste Management Agency (RIWAMA) in Collaboration with Obio Akpor Local Government Council and Port Harcourt City LGA had advised the public not to dump refuse on the road side.

In a statement signed by the Director of RIWAMA Dr Ibimina Wokoma, Mayor of Port Harcourt Sir Hon Allwell Ihunda and Obio Kpor local government Chairman Hon Dr, Gift Worlu made available to Tide news stated that dumping of refuse on road medians is banned in Obio Akpor LGA, Port Harcourt City LGA, and the entire metropolis.

The statement said all waste is to be properly bagged and taken to the nearest RIWAMA-approved receptacle only between the hours of 6pm and 10pm daily.

“The use of cart pushers for waste collection, evacuation, and disposal is highly prohibited across Obio Akpor LGA and Port Harcourt City Local Government. Corporate organizations are requested to engage only Private Service Providers licensed by RIWAMA, in line with extant laws.

“Scattering of refuse bags at the receptacles or roadside by scavengers, individuals, and organizations engaged in illegal sorting or segregation of waste or recycling business is hereby banned, except as authorized or licenced by RIWAMA at the final dumpsites.

“The Thursday sanitation exercise by shop owners will continue alongside business activities without closing or locking up shops.

The statement also said that , shop owners whose shop environment or surroundings are untidy will be arrested and prosecuted accordingly.

This notice applies to all residents, businesses, and organizations in Rivers State. Let’s work together to restore our “Garden City” status.

By: Kiadum Edookor

Environment

Ministry Of Environment To Validate A Landmark Policy To Advance Nigeria’s Economy

Published

2 days ago

February 23, 2026

The Tide

The Federal Ministry of Environment last Thursday convened key stakeholders in Abuja to validate a landmark policy brief aimed at tackling marine litter to advance Nigeria’s transition to a circular economy.

Mrs Falmata Bukar-Kolo, the Deputy Director, Solid Waste Management and Technology Division in the ministry, warned that plastic pollution poses serious risks to aquatic ecosystems and public health.

She stated that microplastics have already entered the food chain through fish consumption, while clogged waterways, soil contamination, and greenhouse gas emissions from burning plastics are worsening the environmental crisis.

Bukar-Kolo said that plastics, though widely used, are non-biodegradable and persist in the environment for years.

She called for improved waste management systems, stronger enforcement of environmental regulations, and behavioural change amongst citizens and businesses.

Mr Clem Ugorji, Regional Coordinator of PROTEGO, emphasised on the urgency of action, saying Nigeria’s marine litter crisis carries environmental, economic, and reputational costs.

He expressed optimism that the 2025 to 2040 roadmap endorsed at the workshop would shift the country from prolonged dialogue to concrete implementation.

The event was organised in collaboration with PROTEGO (Prevention of Marine Litter in the Gulf of Guinea).

Discussions centred on a draft policy input paper titled “Policies, Institutional Set-up and Financing of Marine Litter Prevention in Nigeria,”.

These seeks to present insightful analysis and a set of recommendations to address the structural and financing gaps that have long hindered effective waste management, particularly plastic leakage from inland communities and waterways into the Atlantic Ocean.

The PROTEGO initiative is supported by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection and led by adelphi, with implementation in Nigeria by WASTE Africa and the Nigeria Climate Innovation Centre (NCIC).

The policy brief is a key delivery for one of the programme’s four impact areas – building capacities of public stakeholders.