THE Lagos State Government has trained and rallied public toilet operators on new sanitation techniques and operations for efficient service delivery.
According to media reports, the Special Adviser to the Governor on the Environment, Olakunle Rotimi-Akodu, said the initiative formed part of efforts to eradicate open defecation and other environmental infractions, reduce vulnerability to disease outbreaks, and promote social security across the metropolis.
According to Akodu, the Government recognises the crucial role of janitors and public toilet operators, and the need to build capacity to meet the challenges of service delivery in tandem with the T.H.E.M.E.S plus agenda of this administration.
He added that the training was to inculcate best practices in toilet management, with a focus on ensuring Nigeria is open-defecation-free by 2025.
The Governor’s aide recalled that the Government kicked off the ‘Clean Nigeria: Use the Toilet Campaign’ in 2021, which has since been taken to the grassroots and launched in 11 Local Government Areas across the State. This is in addition to regular sanitation advocacy programmes done in markets and communities across the state.
He added: “The Government is determined to deal decisively with anyone engaging in open defecation in accordance with the State’s extant laws. The Government will not use billions to build infrastructure and some people will mess it up. Lagos has taken it upon itself to recruit officers that will man the different areas, especially the Berger area so that it will not degenerate.
“Enforcers have started arresting people who defecate on the median along the Lagos/Ibadan Expressway (Lagos Axis), and they will be prosecuted accordingly, I hope this will deter other culprits.
“I also appeal to the Ogun State Government to take it from where Lagos stopped, and do same on enforcement so that open defecation will be brought to the barest minimal.”
The Permanent Secretary of the Office of Environmental Services, Dr Tajudeen Gaji, noted that the Government is committed and would continue to ensure good working conditions for toilet operators and janitors.
Gaji, represented by the Director of Sanitation Services, Dr Hassan Sanuth, said topics addressed at the workshop focused on promoting clean, safe, and hygienic toilet facilities – the role of Government and proper hygiene practices and sanitation techniques for public operators and janitors.
