‘50m Nigerians defecate openly’

The Federal Government says over 50 million Nigerians defecate in open places, a practice it said is not good and encouraging for the health condition of the citizenry.
The Mminister of Water Resources, Engr Suleiman Adamu, made the disclosure in Awka at the presentation of the Anambra State Open Defecation Free (ODF) road map, global Hand Washing Day and the crowning of the wife of the state governor, Mrs. Ebelechukwu Obiano, as Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Ambassador.
   Adamu, represented by Engr. Emma Eze, said such practice had set the country back in its resolve to meet up the Millennium Development Goals and called for an urgent eradication of the act.
He commended Anambra State government for presenting the ODF road map to the public, saying it would help prevent water-borne diseases in the state.
Earlier, the European Union had expressed concern over lack of access to clean water in the country, describing water and sanitation as prerequisite to the development of any nation.
The EU Representative in Nigeria, Ambassador Michel Arion Arion, who raised the concern, urged government to provide clean water to schools, hospitals and public places, to prevent children from contracting diseases like diarrhoea and cholera and possibly death.