Some residents of Gwagwalada Area Council, Abuja, have appealed to the authorities to construct more public toilets in designated places in order to curb the menace of open defecation in the area.
The respondents spoke in separate interviews with a correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), on Wednesday in Gwagwalada.
They attributed the high rate of open defecation in the area to inadequate public toilets.
They pleaded with the authorities to construct more public toilets to avoid outbreak of epidemics.
According to them, most people are seen defecating indiscriminately in bushes, under the bridge on the Abuja-Lokoja highway, and some hidden places, especially in the early hours of the day.
Mr Mohammed Isiaku, a commercial motorcycle rider, admitted engaging in open defecation, as he found it difficult to go home anytime he was pressed.
Isiaku urged the government to provide public toilets and charge token for the use of such facilities.
“I want the government to build toilets in some places and employ people to clean and manage them
“It will be more convenient to use the facilities instead of coming out for work and going back anytime one needed to use the toilet.
“I know that defecating outside is not good, but there is nothing I can do about it,” Isiaku said.
Another resident, Mr Moses Obele, said that open defecation should be checked by sanctioning those who engaged in the act.
Obele said that the permanent solution is provision of adequate public toilets, at strategic places.
“Lack of standard public toilets in the council is one of the major causes of open defecation,’’ he said.
Other respondents who spoke, stressed the need to urgently address the menace to avoid the outbreak of epidemics (NAN)
