Ogun government has mandated fuel stations, eateries, markets and other public facilities in the states to provide functioning public toilets in their facilities as part of her efforts at eradicating open defecation in the state.
Ogun Commissioner for Environment, Ola Oresanya during the commissioning of ultra modern biogas energy public toilets at the Governor’s office Secretariat in Oke-mosan, Abeokuta.
Oresanya said the order become necessary to promote public hygiene and sanitation in public places and discourage residents from defecating in open places when they are in transits or out of their homes when pressed.
To further drive the state government’s determination against open defecation, Oresanya also said henceforth party organizers in the state must provide movable toilets at party venues.
He added that Environmental Sanitation Officers from the Ministry of Environment and all the 20 Local Government Councils of the state will enforce the directive for effectiveness.
On the part of state government, the Commissioner announced that 300 public toilets with VIP component such as solar panels will be provided in the next six months.
He said the first phase of the project consisting of 50 toilets are already at an advanced stage of construction and will be ready for commissioning at the end of January.
“All the twenty local government areas of the state will have a minimum of ten public toilets each, while the urban the urban local government areas will have a minimum of fifteen to make up the number,” he said.
Oresanya therefore called on residents of the state to make use of the toilets in their various localities to further enhance public hygiene and better standard of living.
He said the public toilets are to complements those in various houses and public place, so that in few months, the state will be declared open defecation free by the federal government and other world sanitation bodies.
Also speaking at the commissioning, Ogun State Head of service, Dr Nafiu Aigoro said the Biogas Energy public toilet which was constructed by Biofil Technology in partnership with the Ministry of Environment will complement the existing toilets in the State Secretariat.
He added that the toilet was the first of its kind in the country with the energy generated from the facility good for cooking or energizing floodlights.
He added that the initiative is another testimony of the Dapo Abiodun administration’s determination to eradicate open defecation in the state as well as introducing residents of the state to benefits of energies generated from septic tanks when properly treated and converted.