The Plateau State Programme Coordinator, Sustainable Urban and Rural Water Supply Sanitation and Hygiene (SURWASH), Mr. Jonathan Malann has declared that open defecation will end across the state in 2027.
According to Malann, open defecation causes cancer and other forms of deadly diseases that are inimical to healthy population and the inhabitants, stressing that the state is working to ensure that open defecation comes to an end in 2027.
Malann stated this on Friday at a one-day stakeholders’ interactive session in Jos, the Plateau state capital organised especially for those appointed to supervise various boreholes to provide clean potable and safe water in the state.
He said that USD7million was earmarked for the state to take care of safe water while also noting that the money is insufficient to resolve the state’s water problem.
The World Bank according to him, pledged to support Nigeria with funding water sanitation, among whom Plateau State was selected among seven other states.
He stated that dilapidated and collapsed boreholes in the state have become refuge for criminals and criminal activities which must be addressed squarely.
Also contributing to the session, Plateau State Council Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Mrs. Ayuku Pwaspo lamented the current situation of the state when others were said to be making giant strides.
She expressed surprise that journalists are not adequately reporting the sanitation sector as they should in the state.
Pwaspo urged reporters to step forward and move the state in the right direction, stressing that it is pathetic for the state to be backward in sanitation matters.
Some of the stakeholders who engaged the contractors to dig boreholes expressed dissatisfaction with some politicians whom they accused of shielding contractors from being castigated over poor delivery of jobs.
They also pointed out that some contractors are not trustworthy as they often collect payment for fresh contracts and divert it to execute old contracts.