By Akanji Alowolodu, Bauchi
Toro Local Government Council of Bauchi State has declared that it is working on a by- law that will criminalise open defecation in the area in order to prevent environmental and health hazards associated with such unhygienic practices.
The declaration was made by the Executive Chairman of the Council, Alhaji Adamu Danyaro Geji at a stakeholders meeting in Toro attended by traditional rulers, health and education personnel as well as representatives of UNICEF and the State Rural Water Supply Agency (RUWASA).
Adamu Danyaro also said that the enactment of the bye law has become inevitable to check incidences of open defecation in gutters, drainages, running streams, bushes, fields and any available space around schools, worship centres, health facilities, business premises and private offices.
According to him, the bye-law will also make it mandatory for landlords, house-owners and owners of public and business premises to provide sanitary toilets and handwashing facilities within their domain to enable the council achieve open defecation free status in Toro LGA preparatory to UNICEF validation exercise slated for March this year.
While commending UNICEF for its numerous support to Toro LGA, Alhaji Adamu Danyaro Geji implored the organization to scale up its assistance to the Council in view of increasing demand for basic social services following influx of tens of thousands of internally displaced persons (IDPs).
Earlier, UNICEF Bauchi Field Office spokesman, Abdulsalam Abdullahi, disclosed that 230 communities out of 1151 that have water, sanitation and hygiene committees (WASHCOM) would be visited during the validation exercise, noting that TORO LGA must show prove that it has attained open defecation free status when faecal substances are not noticed in the open.
The UNICEF Spokesman implored the council to expedite action in enacting the bye-law as this would also ensure that communities that have attained ODF status in Toro LGA do not revert to their old habit of open defecation in public space.
Also speaking, representative of state rural water supply agency (RUWASA), Alhaji Adamu Sabo revealed that UNICEF in partnership with RUWASA had constructed about 430 boreholes in Toro LGA and therefore urged the council not to disappoint the state government but strive to end open defecation (OD) in order to attract more UNICEF support.
