Environment
Open Defecation: FG To Adopt Clean India Strategy
The Federal Government has indicated interest to adopt the Clean India Strategy to lead campaigns to end open defecation practice in the country.
The Minister of Water Resources, Mr Suleiman Adamu, made this known at the ongoing Media Water Sector Workshop in Abuja.
He said that the Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, had launched the strategy, also known as the Swachh Bharat Mission on Oct. 2, 2014 to accelerate the efforts to achieve universal sanitation coverage.
According to him, the study tour, which the ministry and its partners recently underwent in India, saw the need for Nigeria to adopt the model, calling for all hands to be on deck to stop open defecation practice.
“We are not particularly impressed with open defecation in the country, we launched the Open Defecation-Free campaign roadmap in 2016 and by 2017, we had the first local government that is totally open defecation free.
“And that time, I said one out of 774 local governments is scandalous.
“But what I also appreciate is that there are thousands of communities that are open defecation-free, and since that time, we now have about 10, and our target is to end open defecation by 2025.
“And if we are going at this rate, that in two years, we have been able to do only 10 local governments, then I think there is a problem, and that is why we have decided to borrow the model of India.”
He said that Nigeria has just 47 million people practicing open defecation, but India had 500 million people, adding that within four years, it has been able to bring about 500 million out of poor sanitation.
He said that the campaign would be done aggressively, and called for the support of all Nigerians to reduce the menace.
He said that these alarming statistics led President Muhammadu Buhari on November 8, 2018 to declare a state of emergency in the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) sector in a bid to galvanise action and investment.
“Approximately 47 million Nigerians, 25 per cent of the population practice open defecation.
“At the national level, open defecation rates remained relatively stable, with a 1 percentage point increase during this 25-year period.
“However, open defecation more than doubled in urban areas, from seven per cent in 1990 to 15 per cent in 2015,” he said.
Adamu said that the role of state governments in ending open defecation practice “cannot be overemphasised”, adding states ought to buy into the idea by making sure that they create budget lines and programmes for sanitation scale-up.
The minister said that part of the campaign would focus on behavioural change communication and campaigns, adding that the “media has a huge role to play”.
The National Task Group on Sanitation had announced plans to name the Wife of the President, Aisha Buhari and spouses of governors to take the lead in campaigning to end open defecation practice in the country.
The Chairman of the group, Mr Emmanuel Awe, noted that this was part of efforts and action plan to make Nigeria Open Defecation-free by 2025.
He said that the Federal Government had shown commitment by inaugurating the plan as a deliberate way to gather collaboration from all stakeholders to redeem the image of the country in comity of nations.
“We have made efforts for the First Lady and wives of governors to be champions of open defecation free and ambassadors, we know they are influencers in their own way, taking the lead is important.
“We cannot fold our hands and watch India overtake us as the leading country with the highest number of open defecators.”
According to him, the Federal Government alone cannot do it alone, hence the need for multi-sectoral collaboration to change the narratives.
The Federal Government has signed a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to remove tariffs on selected products.
Rep. Sam Onuigbo a member of the Governing Board of the North-East Development Commission, disclosed this in an interview with newsmen in Abuja on Tuesday.
Onuigbo said that the agreement signed in Abu Dhabi from Jan. 11 to 15, marked a major breakthrough for Nigeria-UAE economic relations.
NAN reports that Onuigbo, a member of the House of Representatives of Nigeria who represented Ikwuano/Umuahia North and South Federal Constituency, served as Chairman, Committee of Climate Change during the 8th Assembly.
“Under the CEPA signed in January 2026, UAE will eliminate tariffs on 7,315 Nigerian products. This includes immediate duty-free access for 2,805 products (38.3 per cent).
” The rest will phase out over three to five years, covering agricultural and industrial goods.
“Similarly, under the Nigeria/UAE CEPA also signed in January 2026, Nigeria has eliminated tariffs on 6,243 products imported from UAE. That agreement creates these wonderful opportunities between Nigerians and the Emirates,” he said.
Onuigbo said that the agreement was massive as it would facilitate an environment for business owners in Nigeria.
He said the pact would enable verified Nigerian business owners to establish offices in UAE, operate for up to three months and return home with expanded commercial networks.
He commended President Bola Tinubu for the agreement, saying it aimed at repositioning the country while also creating an enabling environment for employment opportunities.
He reaffirmed Nigeria’s readiness for business, noting that the country also unveiled its carbon market framework policy to attract climate-focused investments
”Nigeria is a nation of nearly 250 million people and has had, over the years, the challenge of enough energy or power to be able to attain its economic and industrialisation targets.
“And because of that, Nigeria has been engaging in different activities, for instance, the Energy Transition Plan, enactment of the Climate Change Act, and the Electricity Act which the President signed barely eight days after he assumed office in 2023.
“This shows the importance of addressing the energy gap having enough energy. Electricity is a fundamental point to developing industrially which Nigeria deems necessary,” he said.
Onuigbo lauded Nigeria’s participation at the Abu Dhabi summit saying that the summit would strengthen global economic opportunity for people.
He added that the President’s collaboration would address the challenges and devastating effects of climate change as well as boost economic growth in 2026
Environment
HYPREP Completes Phase One Mangrove Restoration In Ogoniland, Warns Against Re-Pollution
The Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project, HYPREP, says it has achieved a major environmental milestone in Ogoniland with the full completion of Phase One of its mangrove restoration programme, even as it warned that renewed pollution could erase years of painstaking cleanup.
“We have completed Phase One planting and restoration at 100 per cent. We are now in the monitoring stage, with some sites already observed for up to nine months,” he said.
Beyond mangroves, Aguiyi reported significant progress in soil and groundwater remediation, describing the last quarter as one of HYPREP’s most productive periods since the Ogoni cleanup commenced.
He disclosed that shoreline cleanup has reached about 77 per cent completion, while access to safe drinking water has expanded across Ogoni communities.
“We have restored 100 per cent potable water supply to Ebubu, and reconstruction work has commenced at the Gwara Waterfall,” Aguiyi stated.
On infrastructure, he said key equipment for the long-awaited Ogoni Power Project has been procured and secured at the Wiyaakara substation, signalling movement toward energy support for the restoration effort.
Despite the progress, Aguiyi warned that re-pollution remains the single greatest threat to the success of the Ogoni cleanup.
“Our major concern is waking up one day to find areas cleaned with Ogoni people’s resources re-polluted by activities beyond our control,” he said, stressing that environmental recovery must be protected as much as it is delivered.
He attributed the sharp decline in illegal artisanal refining in Ogoniland over the past two to three years to sustained community engagement and alternative livelihood programmes, which he said have reduced economic dependence on destructive practices.
“We have not recorded incidents of artisanal refining in Ogoniland in the last two to three years, and that is the result of consistent sensitisation and viable livelihood options,” he added.
Aguiyi reaffirmed HYPREP’s willingness to collaborate with companies and partners operating in Ogoniland, noting that initiatives aligned with the project’s environmental and social objectives would be reviewed and adopted where appropriate.
He also said recommendations from recent independent and internal reports are already being implemented, underscoring HYPREP’s commitment to transparency, accountability, environmental recovery, and improved livelihoods for Ogoni communities.
Environment
Over Six Million Benue Residents Exposed To Neglected Tropical Diseases – State Government
The Commissioner for Health and Human Services, Dr. Paul Ogwuche, disclosed this during a press conference to mark the 2026 World Neglected Tropical Diseases Day, organised in collaboration with Sightsavers and themed “Unite, Act, Eliminate Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs).”
Represented by the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Dr. Beatrice Tsavmbu, the commissioner announced the successful elimination of blinding trachoma in Gwer East, Gwer West and Ukum Local Government Areas, attributing the feat to years of targeted interventions, strong community participation and sustained implementation of the state’s NTDs Control and Elimination Programme.
“I am proud to announce the elimination of blinding trachoma in three of our most affected areas—Gwer East, Gwer West and Ukum. No longer will these communities face the blindness that trachoma has long inflicted,” she said.
However, Dr. Tsavmbu noted that Benue State remains highly endemic for several NTDs, with all 23 local government areas experiencing overlapping disease burdens. She listed the diseases to include onchocerciasis (river blindness), lymphatic filariasis (elephantiasis), schistosomiasis (bilharziasis), soil-transmitted helminth infections (intestinal worms), leprosy, buruli ulcer and snakebite envenoming.
“These conditions collectively put over six million people in Benue State at risk,” she stated.
She revealed that the state had treated an average of more than five million people over the past five years through preventive chemotherapy, morbidity management and disability prevention, supported by Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) initiatives and integrated vector control.
Dr. Tsavmbu also announced a major breakthrough in the fight against river blindness, noting that onchocerciasis endemicity in the state had been reclassified from ongoing transmission to suspected interruption of transmission.
On lymphatic filariasis, she disclosed that 1,064 hydrocele cases had been successfully managed through free surgeries, while 442 lymphoedema patients received free management kits to prevent disease progression. She added that 44 trachoma trichiasis cases were also treated through free surgical interventions.
According to her, Ukum, Logo and Konshisha LGAs have passed Transmission Assessment Survey 1 for lymphatic filariasis, allowing for the cessation of mass drug administration in those areas. In addition, seven other LGAs—Ado, Apa, Kwande, Obi, Ohimini, Oju and Tarka—successfully passed epidemiological monitoring surveys in 2025.
She attributed the progress recorded to strong inter-sectoral collaboration involving agencies such as the Benue Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency (BERWASSA), the State Universal Basic Education Board, the Ministry of Education, civil society organisations and security agencies. She also cited the inauguration of the State NTDs Advisory Committee and improvements in supply chain and logistics management systems.
In a related remark, Prof. Edward Omudu of the Department of Biological Sciences, Moses Orshio Adasu University, Makurdi, revealed that the National Universities Commission had recently approved Nigerian universities to offer degree programmes in Water, Sanitation and Health, describing the move as a critical step toward strengthening disease prevention and public health capacity in the country.
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