A front line international nongovernmental organisation (NGO), Clean Up Nigeria (CUN), has called for the reintroduction of national monthly sanitation exercise in Nigeria after its report showed 80% of the states in the country have seriously neglected the cleaning of gutters or drainage systems and vegetation control.

This is even as Akwa Ibom has emerged the 2021 cleanest state in the country.

According to the final states summary of monitoring and evaluation report of the Clean Up Nigeria (CUN) National Technical Study Group on the nation’s cleanliness performance index ratings for states of the federation, 2021.

The Secretary/Coordinator of Clean Up Nigeria, Prince Ene Baba Owoh (Jr) presented the 2021 States/Cities Cleanliness Performance Rating Index report in Abuja on Thursday.

The cleanliness performance index rating of all States/Towns of the federation study was carried out for a full calendar year from December 2020 to November, 2021 and was supported by International partners of Clean Up Nigeria, including the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI), Canada; keep America Beautiful (KAB). USA; DSZ, Germany, SUEZ Foundation, France, and Clean-Up the world, Australia.

Clean Up Nigeria in the report noted that “there is the need to set-up and strengthen more health and environment clubs across schools nationwide to improve and sustain the practice of hygiene and sanitation among our children.”

The CUN with social and economic consultative status with the United Nations, in its recommendations urged government at all levels and communities, including individuals to, “as a matter of urgency, take seriously the aspect of knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) of hygiene and sanitation to improve their living conditions in order to increase the average life expecta3ncy in Nigeria from 45 years to 55 years”.

The NGO then recommend that “Funding allocated for sanitation and waste management should be stepped up by at least 100% by States/Local Government Councils while corporate organizations should support/ donate sanitation and waste management facilities to States/Local Councils.

“At this point, we duty bound to commend the donation of waste management facilities by the present administration of NDDC to some Niger Delta States in 2021.

“Employers of labour should improve the living condition and wages of sanitation workers; in view of the unsanitary conditions that they are exposed to, this they begin by first providing them with (PPE) personal protection equipment and Medicare.

“The informal sector engaged in waste recycling and reuse industry should be encouraged by Corporate organisations and government at all levels as a means of creating employment, through waste to wealth initiatives. We commend States like Akwa Ibom, Lagos, Oyo and Rivers, Kaduna and Bauchi for their efforts in this direction.

“The dangers of open defecation need to be tackled head-on and this can be achieved through partnership consideration with the private sector nationwide. This will help reduce the incidence and prevalence of diseases associated with it and increase healthier living for all.

“If we must end open defecation in the country let us start with the provision of public toilets in order to meet the 2025 target of ending open defecation and making it a reality in Nigeria.

“Nigeria continues to be rated as the country with the highest rate of open defection in the world by (WHO) Word Health Organization and we reaffirm it from our studies. It therefore becomes imperative that all hands must be on deck to reverse this ugly trend if we must meet 2025 target to end open or reduce it drastically.

“We encourage Government at all levels to partner the private sector to help address this embarrassing situation by providing public toilets/baths in public places through BOT (Build, Operate and Transfer) so the people can have access to toilets.

“We encourage Government at all levels to re-introduce the monthly sanitation exercise and enforce the regular clean-up of drains with renewed energy as 80% of the States have seriously neglected the cleaning of gutter/drains and vegetation control”, the organisation counselled.

Clean Up Nigeria, while congratulating the Akwa Ibom people and the government for making it as the Cleanest State for the year 2021 in Nigeria, explained that the state emerged with a cumulative score of 64%.

Prince Ene Baba Owoh also disclosed that the Ebonyi State emerged the second cleanest state in the country with 55% cumulative score while Bauchi State scored 44% to emerge the third.

The group also congratulated the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, for emerging the cleanest city in Nigeria for year 2021 with 79% closely followed by Uyo with 63% cumulative score.

The organisation then encouraged all stakeholders to “engage in peer review mechanism by making out time to visit both the winning States/Cities and the backward States/Cities to benefit and gain more insights to what the top States are doing in order to improve their performance ratings.

“We urge Nigerians, among other things, to embrace strong personal hygiene and good sanitation habits and to dispose of their waste at the right places.

“We are encouraged by government at all levels and the populace in the sense that after the initial three cleanliness index ratings studies we carried out in 2018, 2019 and 2020 there has been encouraging improvement in hygiene/sanitation practice across the states by 3% in year 2021.

“This is in line with the project’s goal which is founded on bringing sanitation and waste management to the front burner of both government, the populace and in the process increase awareness and encourage alternative actions on personal hygiene/sanitation in order to ensure a cleaner, healthier and safer Nigeria”, CUN said.

The trophy for the cleanest state in Nigeria was received by the Board Chairman of the Akwa Ibom State Environmental Protection And Waste Management Board, Prince A. Ikim on behalf of the people and government of Akwa Ibom State.

Members of the CUN National Technical Study Group (NTSG) for the 2021 States/Cities Cleanliness Performance Rating Index in Nigeria include Prof. Solomon Balogun, Chairman; Prince Ene Baba Owoh (Jr), the Secretary/Coordinator; Chief George Harrison, Member; Rev. Francis Okolo, Member; Ansa Silva, Member; Engr. Dickson Osadolor, Member; Engr. Ahmed Abubakar, Member and Prof. Idris Umar, Member.

Other members include Dr. Chris Okoyo, Olukemi Adeola, Kyeller James – CUW, Australia; Zev. Daniel – Suez, France; Leah Hannah – KAB, USA, Aryeh Chayim – DSZ, Germany , and Joechim Harrison – ICLEI, Canada.

2021 States/Cities Cleanliness Performance Rating Index in Nigeria was arrived at through combined Physical Verification which was 20% and Satellite imagery data which formed 80%. They were applied in all the Performance Indicators on a monthly basis every quarter of the year.