The Chairman of the Oyo State Rural Water Supply Agency (OYORUWASSA), Engineer Najeem Omirinde has disclosed that no local government in Oyo state can boast of open defecation free status.
He stated this during the ongoing town hall meeting on WASH Policy Development, noting that the worrisome state of the WASH sector has positioned Oyo state as one of the states susceptible to open defecation.
Omirinde who declared the town hall meeting open, added that most rural and semi-urban communities were in great need of safe water for drinking and sanitary conditions were poor.
He said the WASH Policy will enable funding and partnership from World Bank and other NGOs as far as water, sanitation and hygiene are concerned.
“The worrisome state of the WASH sector has positioned Oyo state as one of the states in the federation prevalent to open defecation. At present, Oyo state is still noted as an open defecation prone state with no local government achieving an open defecation free status”, he added.
Earlier, stakeholders from relevant sectors gathered in Ibadan, the Oyo state capital on Monday to revise the draft of the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Policy Development, a document which will encourage investment from development partners both locally and internationally.
The WASH Policy Development is one of the major requirements to get funding and partnership towards acquiring safe water, sanitation, hygiene, open defecation free and others.
While thanking Water Aid Nigeria (WANG) and Heineken Africa Foundation (HAF) for their support, Omirinde commended Governor Seyi Makinde for the privilege given to the people of the state to benefit from this programme.
“On behalf of His Excellency, the Executive Governor of Oyo State, Engr. Seyi Makinde, I thank Water Aid Nigeria (WANG) and Heineken Africa Foundation (HAF) for the wonderful opportunity and privilege given to Oyo state people to benefit from this programme”, he said.
Responding, a consultant to Water Aid and lecturer at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife, Dr. Olufemi Aluko, said the Oyo state draft WASH Policy needs extensive revision, adding that the sustainable goals indicators, system approach and others needed to be captured, to enable the state have a thorough and robust implementation.
Dr. Aluko added that the policy will serve as marketing tools and allow the state to have a WASH law which is also important for the implementation of water, sanitation and hygiene support services.
He said several states have benefited from funding due to the availability of the WASH Policy and other documents, adding that operational plan will be developed alongside the policy.
Also, a stakeholder in WASH, Prof Gabriel Oladapo Adeyemi, a Professor of
Environmental and Engineering Geology at the University of Ibadan, appreciated the state government for the establishment of RUWASSA and presence of sanitary officers across the state.
He added that more can still be done in the area of water supply and sanitation while expressing hope that after the workshop, things will change for good as far as water, sanitation and hygiene are concerned.
Also speaking, Mr Marcus Williams, the Country Lead, Living World Mission who represented Water Aid Nigeria, said they decided to support the state government towards having the WASH Policy, adding that they contacted Water Aid on the need to have the policy, and Water Aid graciously agreed to fund the entire process.
He therefore commended the Oyo RUWASSA for their efforts, adding that the policy will further attract development partners to the state.
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