In order to curb the menace of open defecation in Nigeria, it has been suggested that the country will need over nine million toilets within the next five years.

Timeyin Uwejamomere, Managing Partner/Chief Executive Officer Mangrove and Partners Limited, stated this in Minna on Wednesday while addressing a technical session at the 26th National Council on Water Resources.

He pointed out that open defecation has assumed an alarming rate in Nigeria, stressing that the establishment of these toilets will help to minimize open defecation, restore good health and free people from various illnesses.

According to him, “Nigeria needs to build about two million toilets every year for the next five years which means about ten thousand toilets everyday for improved sanitation and proper hygiene.

“In all, in the next five years, we need nothing less than 9.5million toilets qnd and about ten thousand sewage treatment plants across the country.”

Speaking on the theme of the event “Water, Sanitation and Job creation”, he said “we can keep Nigeria clean and use toilet campaign to improve hygiene”.

Also speaking at the occasion, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Water Resources, Mrs. Comfort Ekaro said the federal government wants everyone to be involved in building toilets.

She said “sanitation and hygiene is part and topmost in our agenda at this event because we have launched an action against open defecation.

“Building of toilets especially public toilets is what we want everybody to participate fully because we want that negative title as number one globally in open defecation out. We can do it in the next few years.”

Earlier, the Niger state Commissioner for Water Resources, Yusuf Sulaiman said “plans are under to ensure that we make open defecation reduced substantially and we are going to establish public toilets across the state”.

While calling on participants to deliberate on issues and proffer solutions to the them so as to improve water supply in the country, he said “there is the need to to find sustainable ways of funding water projects”.