Lagos urges use of public toilets, creates task force

The Lagos State Government has promised to build more public toilets to curb open defecation and achieve a cleaner city.

The state Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Mr Tunji Bello, noted that the government would also place mobile toilets in strategic locations across the state and upgrade already existing facilities to encourage patronage.

He said over 600 private public toilet operators and 140 public toilets had been registered to reduce open defecation in the state.

A statement on Thursday said Bello spoke during the flag-off of a campaign, tagged, ‘Clean Lagos: Use the Toilet,’ as part of the 2020 World Toilet Day celebration.

Bello was represented at the occasion by the Permanent Secretary, Office of Environmental Service, Mrs Aderonke Odeneye.

The commissioner said the campaign was in furtherance of efforts to ensure that all public places, including schools, hotels, fuel stations, places of worship, market places, hospitals and offices, had accessible toilets within their premises for public use.

He stressed that the attitude of the citizenry in the usage and maintenance of the facilities had been poor.

Bello explained that the state government had constituted a special task force called Anti-Open Defecation Gang across the state to arrest and arraign defaulters before a Magistrate’s court.