RESIDENTS across Lagos and Abuja may soon see renewed action against open defecation as Harpic has teamed up with the federal and Lagos State governments to improve access to clean and safe toilets ahead of the 2030 national target.

This partnership was announced during activities marking the 2025 World Toilet Day, themed “We Will Always Need the Toilet.” Events included the maiden National Sanitation Conference in Abuja and a two-day sensitisation programme across Lagos State communities.

According to the United Nations (UN), 3.6 billion people worldwide still lack safely managed sanitation. In Nigeria, poor sanitation costs the nation an estimated N455 billion every year and fuels preventable diseases such as cholera and diarrhoea.
At the Abuja conference, Vice President Kashim Shettima, represented by the Special Adviser to the President on Humanitarian Affairs and Development Partners, Inna Binta Audu, warned that Nigeria loses $3 billion yearly due to poor sanitation, stressing the need for urgent action to unlock the country’s $14.23 billion sanitation economy.

“Sanitation is not only about toilets or infrastructure; it is about human dignity, health, productivity and the future of our nation’s children,” he said.

The conference ended with an awards ceremony recognising organisations making contributions to sanitation nationwide. Reckitt Nigeria, makers of Harpic, received the Clean Nigeria Campaign Private Sector Award for innovation and investment in hygiene solutions.

Cassandra Uzo-Ogbugh, Head of External Communications and Partnerships at Reckitt Sub-Saharan Africa, said access to hygienic sanitation “is not a lifestyle upgrade but a fundamental human right,” adding that the company would continue supporting communities until every Nigerian can use a safe and dignified toilet.

Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Prof. Joseph Terlumun Utsev, also reaffirmed Federal Government’s commitment to ending open defecation, describing access to safe toilets as a right, not a privilege.
In Lagos, Harpic led an Anti-Open Defecation Walk across the five IBILE divisions before hosting a stakeholders’ symposium on sustainable sanitation. The event convened government officials, environmental experts, civil society groups and community leaders to discuss solutions for urban sanitation challenges.

Lagos State Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, represented by LASAA MD/CEO, Fatiu Akiolu, said the state is committed to becoming open-defecation-free by 2030.
He announced that Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu had approved the construction of 20 new public toilets, each with 10 units, across strategic locations.
He praised Harpic’s decade-long investment in public hygiene education, community awareness programmes and provision of functional public toilets, calling the company a “strong partner in Nigeria’s drive toward an ODF nation.”

The latest push, stakeholders say, is aimed at not only changing behavior, but also strengthening public-private partnerships to expand sanitation infrastructure, a crucial step if Nigeria is to meet its 2030 target.