A human rights advocate and member of the Organisation for Human and People’s Rights Protection and Humanitarian Services, Comrade Doboro Marvellous, has called on local government authorities in Delta State to prioritise the provision of public toilet facilities as a means of ending open defecation and promoting public health.

Speaking to journalists in Asaba on Wednesday, Marvellous decried the widespread failure of local government councils to address what he described as a “constitutional obligation” to provide essential public services.

He condemned the alleged misappropriation of public funds on fraudulent and unverified projects, urging that such funds be redirected toward building and maintaining public conveniences, especially in rural communities.

“It is time for local government authorities to take the bull by the horns,” he said. “No council chairman has considered this vital constitutional duty. Instead, we see laxity, impunity, and grand larceny that have bastardised the local government system.”

Marvellous warned that he would soon begin naming and petitioning council chairmen before anti-graft agencies over unaccounted public funds allegedly funnelled into dubious projects.

He stressed that poor sanitation practices—particularly open defecation—continue to spread preventable diseases, posing serious threats to public health in both urban and rural areas.

Citing global support for improved sanitation, he recalled a recent partnership between the European Union (EU) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), which trained 35 facilitators under the Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) initiative in Delta State.

The program, which began in Isoko South and Ndokwa Local Government Areas, was designed as a pilot scheme to eventually reach all 25 local governments in the state.

Marvellous urged local authorities to follow the lead of international development partners by urgently providing and maintaining public toilets, which he said is a basic necessity for healthy living and human dignity.

“It is shameful that in 2025, we are still battling with open defecation due to negligence and corruption. The time for action is now,” he added.