2 Bauchi LGAs enact by-laws on open defecation

Open defecation in Ganjuwa and Toro Local Government Areas (LGAs) of Bauchi State, would henceforth attract a two-month jail term or N10,000 fine, as the two LGAs enact by-laws against open defecation.

The by-laws also provide that anyone found erecting a structure rather than a pit-latrine or water closet toilet risks three months imprisonment or a N20, 000 fine.

Alhaji Baba Gidado, Chairman, Ganjuwa Local Government Area, said after signing the by-law that health personnel and traditional rulers had been mandated and supported to educate the public on the dangers of open defecation.

He recalled various water schemes provided by UNICEF in the area, including 300 hand pump boreholes, 50 motorised boreholes and 50 VIP latrines.

“My council needs more of such support in future and would, therefore, enforce the law on open defecation preparatory to the validation exercise by UNICEF,” he said.

Earlier, the District Head of Ganjuwa, Alhaji Ahmed Gidado, said already traditional and religious leaders in the community had since been sensitised on the dangers of indiscriminate open defecation.

“There are health hazards associated with open defecation, promising that no human faeces would be seen during the UNICEF validation trip.”

Also speaking, Alhaji Adamu Danyaro, the Chairman of Toro Local Government, said that Toro community radio, the information unit of the council, in collaboration with religious and community leaders, would ensure that the provisions of the by-law were well disseminated, to enforce compliance.

In his remark, Mr Abdullahi Abdulsalam, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) spokesman, implored stakeholders in the two LGAs to sensitize their communities adequately, so as to scale the UNICEF validation exercise that would subsequently qualify them as ‘open defecation free local governments.’