Beneficiaries of various Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) interventions projects in Lagos State have been implored to ensure maintenance of toilet facilities and protect them to serve the purpose of ending open defecation.
Mr AbdulMalik Giwa, representative of the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, gave the advice when he inspected WASH facilities in Ikorodu and Ojodu LCDA, provided by WaterAid Nigeria, a non-governmental organisation.
Giwa said the inspection was to ascertain that the quality of WASH facilities interventions by WaterAid Nigeria meets the standard approved by the Federal Government.
After inspection of projects in Ojodu, Isiu, Agbede, Itamaga and Olorunda in Ikorodu, he implored WaterAid to ensure international specifications with a call on benefitting communities not to sell some of the WASH materials like water purification tablets, sanitation soaps and ORS tablets given to them but to distribute to affected households to curb the spread of Cholera.
“As part of our oversight functions, we have visited some areas like Agidingbi, Ojodu, now Isiu, Itamaga, Olorunda, and we can say WaterAid Nigeria has done well and it is worth commending but if distribution is not well monitored it can get to wrong hands who will sell at cheaper rate but I am glad the LCDA will be in charge with CDCs and CDAs directly involved,” Giwa said.
Earlier, the Executive Secretary, Ikorodu North LCDA, Mr. Niyi Odugbesi, assured that the WASH materials would be distributed to the nooks and crannies of the Council Area with promise to sustain the advocacy and sensitisation on regular hand washing with soap, environmental sanitation and improved water supply to fight against communicable diseases.
“On behalf of my Executive Chairman of Ikorodu North LCDA, Mr Adeola Banjo, I want to say a big thank you to WaterAid Nigeria for all the various interventions too numerous to mention, we promised to ensure maintenance and protect the toilet facilities and ensure distribution of the materials to those concerned.”
The inspection and monitoring climaxed the 10 days rural advocacy and sensitisation by WaterAid Nigeria in over 20 communities in Ojodu, Ikorodu and Igando Ikotun LCDAs with over 500,000 direct and indirect beneficiaries.
By Ajibola Adedoye
