as Gov AbdulRazaq inaugurates 12-man task group

By Olufemi Oni, Ilorin

Kwara State Governor AbdulRahaman AbdulRazaq has
described sanitation as one of the fundamental aspects of human life that must be effectively carried out to improve people’s hygienic condition.

AbdulRazaq, therefore, stressed the need to properly address sanitation and hygiene in the State in order to curb the spread of avoidable diseases through open defecation.

The Governor, who was represented by the Commissioner for Water Resources, Hon. Usman Yunusa Lade, spoke on Friday in Ilorin, the state capital, while inaugurating a 12-man task group for the State Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency (RUWASSA) towards enhancing a cleaner and hygienic environment.

Members of the task group include the Commissioner for Water Resources, Hon. Usman Yunusa Lade as Chairman; Shehu L. Manjo; Abubarkar Nma Muhammad; Adam Aliyu Yusuf; Jimoh Salahudeen Yetunde; and Julian Jiyah.

Other members are Hajia Fatimah Abdulahi; Jimoh Isiaka Elewu Etu; Shafiu Ayodeji Risikat; Adeshina Azeez Salami; and Mr. David Alake, while Mr. Olorunfemi Oladipo would serve as the Secretary.

He said: “Cleanliness is part of Godliness, and that is why the state government had invested millions of naira as counterpart funding to address these challenges.”

Governor AbdulRazaq reiterated his administration’s commitment to eradicating open defecation in the State, saying this informed the launch of the P-WASH Programme in some Local Government Areas in the State.

According to him, both the Federal and the Kwara State Governments are collaborating in this direction to rid the State of the menace in the shortest possible time.

In her welcome address, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Mrs. Christiana Omolola Asonibare said the inauguration of the task group would help to improve a cleaner environment in the society.

Asonibare urged the committee members to bring their wealth of experience to bear and do a diligent work across the state, “especially at this crucial period that we are making our environment and gutters clean to avoid flooding of property and facilities”.

She enjoined the team to take the job to all the nooks and crannies of the State to have a better and cleaner environment.

In his address, the General Manager of RUWASSA, Mr. Olorunfemi Oladipo, represented by the Head of Department of Sanitation, Mr. Rufai Olalekan, was excited that the State which ranked among the worst for the prevalence of open defecation, has progressively surpassed four other States namely Kogi, Ebonyi, Plateau and Oyo in the latest ranking due to the high level of commitment on the part of Governor AbdulRazaq, who had invested heavily on the WASH sector.

The State Task Group on Sanitation (STGS), Oladipo explained, involves coordinating sanitation initiatives at state level; developing collaboration and partnership mechanism among the key stakeholders; raising awareness on Sanitation and hygiene; advocating effective sanitation delivery in the State and monitoring programme implementation, among others.