The Nation Newspaper

Tag: sanitation

  • EU disburses €221m on water, sanitation

    The European Union disbursed €221 million for Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) projects in Nigeria between 2008 and 2013, the Head of Politics, Press and Information Section, Delegation of the European Union (EU) to Nigeria, Olivier Huot has said.

    He said that EU is trying to make people more concerned about climate change program and more involved in the mitigation.

    Speaking yesterday at the Youth involvement in climate action program in Abuja, Huot said the EU tries to remind countries to urgently act against climate change.

    His words, “For Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) projects in Nigeria, the EU disbursed 221 millions of EUROS between 2008 and 2013.

    “The program is part of the climate diplomacy week that the European Union organises every year. Today we are sanitizing youths on climate change because it is not only problems for academics, we need to see how youths can be involved in the mitigation of the climate change program.

    “We are trying to make people more concerned about the climate change program and more involved in the mitigation, we try to remind the country that it is an urgent matter to act against climate change…”

  • Soldiers embark on sanitation, sweep Kaduna streets

    As part of activities to mark the 2018 Nigerian Army Day Celebration (NADCEL), officers and men of 1 Division Nigerian Army, Kaduna yesterday embarked on sanitation exercise in the Kaduna metropolis.

    The officers and men of the nation’s fighting force were led by the General Officer Commanding of the Division, Major General Mohammed Mohammed, to sweep and pack refuse along major streets of Barnawa in Kaduna South local government area of the state.

    The exercise commenced at around 9:30am and lasted till 12:00pm.

    Speaking with newsmen shortly after the exercise, General Mohammed said the programme for 2018 Army Day celebration includes sanitation exercise, medical outreach programme, all geared towards assisting the society to get closer to the military and the Nigerian Army.

    According to him, “We feel we need to identify with the society as part of our celebration. So, the sanitation exercise for today June 30 is for us to assist communities which have these types of challenges.

    “And we have identified Barnawa general area as having piles and heaps of refuse and we felt if we are able to assist them, health wise, the environment would be clean.

    “Also, we came in here alongside other locations to assist to clear the refuse.

    “That is essentially why we are here to interface with people, to assist them and improve the environment,” Mohammed said.

  • Rising population responsible for poor water supply, sanitation facilities-FG

    The federal government has blamed the poor water supply in the country on increased population growth and climate change.

    It also noted increased population growth was responsible for decline in sanitation facilities in the country.

    Minister of Water Resources, Suleiman Adamu, stated these at a symposium to commemorate the 2018 World Water Day in Abuja.

    He noted it was sad that despite abundant water resources, water supply coverage remained at 57 per cent.

    The figures, he noted, showed that the remaining 93 per cent of Nigerians get water from other sources.

    The Minister, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Dr. Musa Ibrahim, said millions of Nigerians especially those living in the rural areas were still without access to improved drinking water sources.

    He said: “The provision of water infrastructures is capital intensive hence the need for a concerted effort by all stakeholders to overcome the challenges in the water sector.

    “Statistics have shown over the years that with the rapid increase in population growth, access to clean drinking water and sanitation steadily declines.

    “A lot of factors contribute to the water crises, such as climate change, poor management and a lot more, the most incriminating is the neglect of our ecosystem.

    “This has resulted in environmental damages such as floods, droughts, water pollution among others.

     

    “A worrying challenge is the declining percentage of Nigerians that are getting that water supply through piped networks, from 31 percent in 1990 to less than 7 percent in 2017.

     

    The crisis, he said, had forced many to drilling of boreholes with resultant consequences on the environment in urban areas and fetching of unclean water from streams and river in rural areas.

     

    The minister noted that the federal government was committed towards formulating and implementing policies and programmes that would enable sustainable access to safe and sufficient water for all Nigerians.

     

    WaterAid Country Director, Dr Chichi Okoye, said it was alarming over 123 million lack basic sanitation and 60 million Nigerians are without access to clean water.

     

    She urged the federal government to prioritise water and sanitation by improving budget allocations to the sector.

     

     

     

  • Fed Govt hails UNICEF, EU on water, sanitation  

    THE Federal Government has hailed the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and European Union (EU) for aiding the provision of potable water and ensuring sanitation.

    The Deputy Director, Child Right Information Bureau, Federal Ministry of Information and Culture, Abuja, Mr. Olumide Osanyinpeju, spoke in his opening remark at a media dialogue for select journalists on Water Supply and Sanitation Sector Reform Project.

    The event was held in Jos, the Plateau State capital.

    He said the roles of UNICEF and EU in advancing the cause of making life safe in Nigeria remained significant and commendable.

    According to him, “it is a fact that UNICEF and EU have been in the forefront of ensuring that we have access to drinkable water, sanitation and proper hygiene in our environment and communities.”

    Osanyinpeju, an engineer, said the objective of the project was to support the efforts of local and state governments to the achievement of water and sanitation related Sustainable Development Goals.

    Plateau State Commissioner for Water Resources and Energy David Wuyep, who declared the dialogue open, praised UNICEF for its intervention in provision of water.

    He said the government would ensure prompt payment of counterpart funds.

     

     

     

  • 20 jailed in Ekiti for sanitation offences

    20 jailed in Ekiti for sanitation offences

    Twenty residents of Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, were sentenced at the weekend for failing to participate in the monthly environmental sanitation.

    The offenders were arrested by the state’s environmental sanitation officers for indiscriminate dumping of refuse and disregard for official restriction of movement during the sanitation period.

    The Magistrate of a mobile court, Mrs. Modupe Afeniforo, who sentenced the convicts to prison terms – ranging from one to two months – gave them options of fine between N3,000 and N500 in lieu of the prison sentences.

    Mrs Afeniforo noted that the sentences would not only serve as punishment but also as a deterrence to people that may be tempted to commit similar offences.

    Reacting to the development, the Commissioner for Environment, Chief Bisi Kolawole, warned the residents that government would continue to prosecute anybody caught flouting environmental and sanitation laws.

    Stressing the need for residents to take care of their environment to prevent flooding and outbreak of epidemic, Kolawole noted that because of the devastating effect of flooding, the people should not allow anybody to indiscriminately dump refuse in the waterways or do anything that would block canals.

    The commissioner called for continued support for the government to make life more meaningful for the residents.

    He urged them to make judicious use of the waste bins the government provided at designated areas to enable the government achieve a healthy environment.

  • Lagos advocates sustainable sanitation practice

    Lagos advocates sustainable sanitation practice

    The Lagos State Government has joined the rest of the world to mark the World Toilet Day – a day set aside to promote healthy sanitation practices.

    At the celebration, which held at the Ojodu/Berger Bus Terminus, in the Ikeja Local Government Area, last week, the Commissioner for the Environment, Dr. Babatunde Adejare, said the day brought to the front burner germane issues, such as water, sanitation and hygiene, affecting the people. He noted that the proper handling of these critical issues would help reduce government’s expenditure on the treatment of diseases, and make more money available for other facilities for public use.

    Adejare said by the United Nations’ estimate, 2.5 per cent of the world’s seven billion people, mostly in rural areas, do not have proper sanitation while 1.1 billion people still defecate in the open.

    “This has significant impacts on human health, dignity and security as well as the environment, social and economic development. The countries where open defecation is most widely practiced are the same countries with the highest mortality rate of children under five, high levels of under nutrition and poverty as well as large wealth disparities,” he said.

    This staggering statistics, the Commissioner said, calls for urgent action among all stakeholders to prioritise toilet and sanitation issues, enhance access to water and sanitation facilities as well as spread awareness of the ills of undesirable sanitation practices. He agreed that sanitation and toilet issues required urgent actions to stem the tide of diseases and bring about healthy citizenry.

    Adejare said the current administration was making concerted efforts to eradicate the menace of open defecation and urination through the provision of public toilets and upgrading of already existing facilities across the state.

    “All public institutions in the state such as petrol stations, eateries and shopping malls are mandated to maintain clean toilets and give access to members of the public. We have also ensured that non-compliance attracts appropriate sanctions,” he disclosed.

    He said the Lagos State government’s commitment to attaining the smart-city status for the state could not be sacrificed at the altar of poor sanitation and inefficient solid waste management, stressing that the environment remained the state’s priority as it was important for maintaining a secure and more prosperous state.

    The commissioner, therefore, enjoined Lagosians to join in the crusade of attaining a cleaner, healthier, functional and sustainable environment, capable of promoting economic growth and well-being of the citizenry.

  • Minister seeks collaboration on on water, sanitation

    Minister of Water Resources, Suleiman Adamu, has called for collaboration with other ministries to achieve goal 6 of the sustainable development goals (SDGS).

    The Minister made the appeal at an Inter-ministerial dialogue on sanitation with key ministers in Abuja on Tuesday.

    The SDGs goal six is to ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all by 2025 -2030.

    The minister said collaborative efforts with other ministries was needed to overcome the hurdles goal six presents.

    He said when the ministry met with other ministers in February they agreed to scale up funding of the water and sanitation sector.

    Adamu said: “The other resolutions included the need to inject more funding in the sanitation and hygiene sub-sector.

    “The SDGs has presented many hurdles that will require collaborative efforts in overcoming them. It is in this regards that we seek a robust collaborative efforts towards achieving this goal.

    “I can assure you that the Buhari’s administration is committed to the improvement of the WASH sector and this is evident in the budgetary allocation and releases to the ministry.

    He said the government was collaborating with development partners to achieve the goal 6 on SDGs.

  • A’Ibom Police Command to sanction officer for attacking sanitation court over daughter

    The Akwa Ibom State Police Command has commenced investigation into an alleged attack on a sanitation court in Uyo by a team of heavily-armed policemen led by the officer in charge of the command’s Anti-Robbery Unit, SP Idorenyin Akpabio.

    The State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Bala Elkaner who disclosed this to our correspondent on telephone yesterday, said the Commissioner of Police, Zubairu Umar was aware of the incident.

    SP Akpabio, a relative of the immediate past governor of the state, now Senate Minority Leader, Senator Godswill Akpabio, is said to have led two patrol vehicles filled with policemen to attack and disrupt proceedings at the sanitation court which was in session at Nkemba Street, Uyo at the weekend.

    Our correspondent gathered that a girl, said to be the daughter of SP Akpabio was one of the 23 sanitation defaulters apprehended by sanitation taskforce officials attached to the State Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources during last Saturday’s monthly sanitation exercise and subsequently arraigned before the sanitation court.

    It was learnt the girl, who was taken to the sanitation court along with other defaulters, had reportedly insulted the court officials, threatening that her father was a senior police officer in the state.

    She reportedly made good her threats when she put a telephone call across to her father, who initially stormed the court with 6 heavily armed policemen who cocked their rifles threatening to open fire at the sanitation taskforce and court officials.

  • Enugu to punish sanitation culprits

    Enugu State government has warned that it will apprehend and prosecute those who refuse to participate in the monthly sanitation.

    The Managing Director of Enugu State Waste Management Authority (ESWAMA), Mrs. Amaka Anajemba, addressing reporters yesterday in Enugu, said mobile courts would be stationed in strategic locations to prosecute those detained by law enforcement agencies.

    She said: ‘‘For those fond of doing fitness exercise at Okpara Square and other places in the Enugu metropolis, we advise you to spare a few hours to join in keeping your environment and homes clean.

    ‘‘Loitering during the exercise will not be condoned.

    “The authority will not fail to apprehend and prosecute those engaging in fitness exercise or loitering during sanitation hours.

    “The state’s environmental mobile courts will be on ground to trail and prosecute offenders.’’

    Anajemba stressed the need for residents to partake in the exercise.

  • Lagos asks markets to establish task force on sanitation

    Lagos State Government has mandated all the 93 markets within Lagos Island Central Business Districts (CBD) to set up a task force on sanitation, warning that any market that fails to comply with the directive will be shut down indefinitely.

    Special Adviser to the Governor on Central Business Districts, Mr. Agboola Dabiri who disclosed this at a sanitation and awareness creation meeting with market leaders inside the Youth Centre, Onikan, Lagos Island, said the extent of waste generation in markets on the Island has become worrisome and the State Government was taking drastic measures to tackle the situation once and for all.

    He said: ‘’any market that fails to set up the task force on clearance and effective disposal of waste and refuse will definitely be shut down’’

    Lagos, he said, has been in the fore front of cleanliness and hygienic market situation towards forestalling outbreak of epidemic disease, adding that no stone will be left unturned at ensuring that the huge refuse that are in several places on Lagos Island CBD is cleared up, as the CBD has put series of plans in motion to ensure the clearance.

    “Traders themselves have a lot to gain from clean and serene environment as it is a sure panacea to a disease-free society”, Dabiri said.