Nig’s Target To End Open Defecation By 2030 Achievable – Shettima

Vice President Kashim Shettima says Nigeria’s revised 2030 target to end open defecation is achievable, with renewed commitment from all stakeholders.

The Vice President stated this in Abuja at the 6th Anniversary of the Clean Nigeria Campaign and the 2025 World Toilet Day commemoration.

Represented by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Humanitarian Affairs, Inna Binta Audu, he announced that a revised Presidential Executive Order on achieving an Open-Defecation-Free Nigeria has been signed and is now being gazetted.

He explained that the new Order strengthens the legal and institutional framework for sanitation, expands private-sector participation, and introduces tougher monitoring and enforcement measures.

Shettima emphasised that access to sanitation is a fundamental human right and a key pillar of President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

He added that clean water and sanitation are central to improving public health, boosting school attendance, and empowering women and girls.

Commenting on this year’s World Toilet Day theme, “Sanitation in a Changing World,” Shettima called for climate-smart and water-efficient sanitation systems to address pressure from climate change, rapid urbanisation, and population growth.

He commended state and local governments, traditional rulers, civil society groups, development partners, and the private sector for supporting the Clean Nigeria Campaign.

Earlier, the Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Professor Terlumun Utsev, reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to ending open defecation.

He announced that 158 local government areas have achieved open-defecation-free status, and projected that at least ten additional states will join the two already certified ODF before the end of the year.

Also speaking, a representative of the World Bank, Ms. Judith Warmate, reaffirmed the Bank’s strong commitment to supporting Nigeria in achieving universal access to safely managed sanitation by 2030.

She noted that poor sanitation cost Nigeria billions of naira annually through preventable illness, lost productivity, and its impact on children’s health and education.

Ms. Warmate highlighted the World Bank’s ongoing support through programmes such as SURWASH, Citywide Inclusive Sanitation, the P-WASH initiative, and capacity-building at the National Water Resources Institute.

She stressed the need for innovation, stronger private-sector engagement, and data-driven decision-making to meet national targets.

Addressing young people at the event, she urged them to become champions of change and help shape the future of sanitation in the country.

In a goodwill message, UNICEF’s Chief of WASH, Dr. Jane Bevan commended the Clean Nigeria Campaign and applauded UNICEF field teams across all states for their dedication to achieving open-defecation-free status nationwide.

Georgina Humphrey, Edited By Grace Namiji