World Toilet Day: Nasarawa to Provide Massive Mobile Toilets
Igbawase Ukumba in lafia
The Nasarawa State Government has said it is providing massive mobile toilets in public facilities in its renewed effort to end open defecation in the state.
The state Commissioner for Environment, Solid Minerals and Mining, Princess Margaret Elayo, disclosed this on Thursday in Lafia while briefing journalists at an event to commemorate the 2026 World Toilet Day.
THISDAY reports that November 19 is set aside every year to celebrate World Toilet Day.
According to her, “The state government has keyed into the plans of the Federal Government to end open defecation by 2030.
”The word toilet sounds simple and funny to some people, but a toilet is life. A toilet is dignity. A toilet is health. A toilet is safety. A toilet is a peaceful space.
”Imagine a child who cannot go to school because there is no toilet in the school. Imagine a woman who must wait until nightfall, risking her safety, just to ease herself in a bush.
“Imagine a community where human waste flows in the same water they drink, cook with, and bathe with.
“That is the reality for millions of people across the globe, even here in Nigeria, and Nasarawa State,” she said.
Elayo noted that the Governor Abdullahi Sule-led administration in the state is committed to ending open defecation, providing clean and accessible toilets for all and protecting the environment and water from contamination.
She said that the mobile toilets would be deployed in high-traffic areas including markets, motor parks, schools, and other public places where residents often lack access to toilet facilities.
The commissioner said the initiative is not only about providing toilets, but also about protecting public health, preventing diseases like cholera, typhoid and diarrhoea, and restoring dignity to residents.
Elayo further warned that the state government would no longer tolerate open defecation, noting that the state sanitation law makes it mandatory for every household to have a functional toilet.
The commissioner further disclosed that the government would immediately construct modern toilets at Shinge cattle market and On the Move Park in Lafia due to a recent discovery that those important places do not have toilet facilities.
She, therefore, called on members of the public to make use of the facilities when provided, keep them clean, and support the government’s effort to make Nasarawa open defecation-free.