Permanent Secretary, Office of Environmental Services, in the Ministry for the Environment and Water Resources, Dr. Omobolaji Gaji disclosed this during engagement with public toilet operators in the state.
Speaking during the second edition of the training workshop for public toilet operators at Ikeja, Lagos, the Permanent Secretary, reiterated that the state is determined to eradicate the menace of open defecation by 2025.
He also pledged to continually promote healthy sanitation practices in public toilet management across the state.
Gaji, who was represented by the Director, of Sanitation Services, Dr. Hassan Sanuth said the state government has four cardinal points of operation, which include; Advocacy; Regularization and standardisation; Bridging the gap and Monitoring, Evaluation & Enforcement, saying that the training workshop comes under Regularisation and standardisation.
The Permanent Secretary said the training provides an opportunity for stakeholders to engage and communicate the government’s desire and requirements to operators in the sector adding that the government in collaboration with other organisations remain determined to achieve zero tolerance in open defecation and urination.
He said: “ To become successful in rendering services, learning new things must be a way of life and mastery of the business brings excellence. Public toilet operators must engage in best practices in toilet management and must be properly trained by the approved body following the government’s laid down rules.
“Recall that the government inaugurated an Anti- open defecation Squad some years back, according to the environmental laws of the state for non-complying members of the public and as such toilet operators must adhere to proper toilet management to avoid any form of sanctions from the government.
“Toilet operators must always ensure proper handling of the toilets as this would help reduce government and individual expenditure on treatment of diseases and thereby make more money available for other economic uses.”
In his lecture titled “public toilet provision management, a panacea to healthy living” the facilitator, Dr. Cyril Babasope described a public toilet as a convenient facility that plays an essential role in both human health and environmental health.
He said the vision of the Lagos State government to ensure adequate and conducive public toilets was applaudable bearing in mind that 116 million out of the 250 million Nigerians do not have access to decent toilets.
He enjoined public toilet operators to collaborate with the government to curb open defecation by establishing toilets in an accessible locations, employing trained staff, using appropriate tools, as well as employ legal waste disposal processes, among others.
