A bill to prohibit open defecation and urination faced criticism and eventual rejection after being presented before the ministries of finance and environment as well as other stakeholders. 

On Monday, the “Clean Nigeria Agency (Establishment) Bill” was presented at a one-day public hearing by the Senate Committee on Water Resources at the National Assembly, Abuja. The proposed legislation was sponsored by Senator Clifford Ordia.

Chairman of the Senate Committee on Water Resources, Bello Mandiya, noted the need for the federal government to eradicate open urination and defecation, citing health concerns.

However, the Director of Legal Services, Ministry of Environment, Obayagbo Helen, said the ministry was opposed to the passage of the bill.

“Creating an agency for a fragment of one component of sanitation would mean creating more than 15 agencies for sanitation issues alone,” she said.

“This would mean wastage of scarce government resources. Besides, there are too many federal government agencies in existence currently and most of them self-sustaining but depend on the already very thin resources of the Federal Government,” she added.

The bill was also rejected by the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning, represented by Ate Amali, who noted the existence of government agencies already performing the roles listed out in the proposed bill. 

The national president, Environmental Health Officers Association of Nigeria, Jamilu Shuaibu, noted that the proposed legislation clashed with the provisions of the fourth schedule of the 1999 constitution.

That part stipulates that local government councils are solely responsible for maintaining and regulating public convenience.