The seventh edition of the public presentation of the State of the Nigerian Environment (STONE) has rated Akwa Ibom State in the South-South, Enugu State in the Southeast, Lagos State in the South-West, Plateau State in the North-Central, Borno State in the North-East, and Kaduna State in the North-West as the cleanest states in Nigeria.
The National Coordinator, Ene Baba Owoh, disclosed this at an event organised by Cleanup Nigeria in Abuja with the theme, “STONE 2024 Unplugged.”
The event announced the six zonal cleanest state champions in Nigeria, alongside the annual Cleanliness Performance Index Rating.
The study shows that 179 million people in Nigeria are living in an unclean environment, compared to 183 million in 2023. Life expectancy in Nigeria fell from 44 years in 2023 to 40 years in 2024.
These six zonal cleanliness champions were awarded the prestigious STONE Green Crystal Award in 2024.
The organisation aims to highlight the importance of environmental cleanliness and sustainability in Nigeria, recognising the efforts of the six zonal cleanliness champions and encouraging others to follow suit.
Nigeria’s sanitation situation is a mixed bag. On one hand, the country has seen a slight improvement in reducing open defecation, from 24% in 2023 to 20% in 2024.
This progress has pushed Nigeria from the top spot in open defecation worldwide to the second position, with India taking the lead. However, there are still significant challenges.
“Twenty-eight out of thirty-seven states, including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) outside Abuja, are rated as unclean. This is a slight increase from thirty-one states in 2023. In terms of waste management, only four states – Akwa Ibom, Enugu, Abia, and Lagos – demonstrated a 4% improvement in the procurement of waste management equipment in 2024.
Owoh noted that funding for sanitation initiatives has also decreased, and the health of sanitation workers has deteriorated, with a drop from 31% in 2023 to 28% in 2024.
“On a more positive note, nine states – Akwa Ibom, Ebonyi, Lagos, Kaduna, Plateau, Enugu, Cross River, Anambra, and Bauchi – scored above 40% in overall performance ratings and can be considered clean.”
The coordinator added that overall, while there are some encouraging signs, Nigeria still faces significant challenges in improving its sanitation situation, with only seven states demonstrating good personal hygiene and sanitation practices among their citizens.
In terms of environmental cleanliness, nine states out of thirty-seven, including the FCT (outside Abuja city), were found to have unclean streets and roads.
However, eight states have successfully managed and sustained vegetation and drainage control.