By Stella Odueme
The Minister of State, Federal Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation, Rt. Bello Muhammad Goronyo, Esq. has affirmed the willingness of his ministry to collaborate with Senior Special Assistants to the President on Community Engagements in ensuring that the ‘Clean Nigeria; Use the toilet campaign’ penetrates all the hinterlands communities of the 774 LGAs of the country as parts of efforts to end open defication in the country by 2025.
The minister made this known when the Senior Special Assistants to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Community Engagements, Abdullahi Tanko Yakassai (North-West), Abiodun Essiet (North-Central), Moremi Ojodu (North -West) and Gift John Bull (South-South), paid him a courtesy visit on Tuesday in Abuja.
Rt. Goronyo acknowledged the track records of service and unflinching commitments of the SSAs to their people at the grassroots as well as their vibrancy, passion, intelligence and deep knowledge of community related works, and pledged his ministry’s strong alliance with the group not only on the Campaign for Open Defication Free (ODF) across all the communities of the 774 LGAs but also in Water, Sanitation & Hygiene programmes in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of Mr. President.
” I want to commend Mr. President for appointing you to serve in this capacity. I know it’s a herculean task, but with your track records, it’s a well-deserved appointment. I know your pedigrees. Most of you who worked in the Presidential Campaign Council, I know your capacities and I know you can deliver”, he said.
He informed the group that he and his colleague, the Minister, Engr. Prof. Joseph Terlumun Utsev have been visiting the 36 states in the country to take the campaign to the governors and seek collaborations in its programmes such as
PEAWASH, SURWASH and Water, Sanitation and Hygiene.
Goronyo emphasized the consequences of lack of proper access to good portable drinking water, sanitation and hygiene which underscore monumental loss in our GDP and causes various diseases such as diarrhea, cholera and typhoid in communities.
He expressed deep appreciation for the visit and urged the SSAs not to relent in their shared determination of ensuring the success of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu Administration, noting that posterity will find them well in their various endeavors of ensuring a better and greater Nigeria for all.
“We will continue to partner with you. Our dream is the success of his Excellency, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, a true Leader, a Grassroot Politician, a Mobilizer and someone that is ever ready to deliver on mandate.
“I have no doubt in my mind that you are picked for the job, and you can do it”.
The Director, Water Quality Control and Sanitation of the Ministry, Mrs. Elizabeth Ugoh recalled how the then Vice President Prof. Osinbajo launched the ‘Clean Nigeria: Use the Toilet Campaign’ in 2019 and that since the launch, the ministry has been up and doing on the vampaign.
She noted that most of the states have keyed into the campaign but regretted that the mnistry in recent time has been faced with paucity of funds to push the campaign as desired.
She stressed that till date only 122 LGAs of the 774 has been declared open defication free. She appealed for proper funding of the ODF programme in order to meet the target year 2025 of making Nigeria open defication free.
Earlier, the leader of the group and SSA North-West Community Engagement, Abdullahi Tanko Yakassai pledged their unwaivering determination to partner the ministry on ODF and other Water, Sanitation and Hygiene programmes
A statement by Imuetinyan
Director, Information and Public elations Unit on we Wednesday said
Abdullahi Tanko Yakassai and colleagues assured the ministry of leveraging on their expertise, connections and relationships across the country to carry the campaign to a logical conclusion.
