The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) says more people have access to cell phones in Nigeria than they have access to toilets.
Quoting a 2018 report by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the Chief of WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene), UNICEF, Zaid Jurji, said 140 million people in Nigeria have cell phones, while only 97 million have access to improved sanitation.
Mr Jurji who spoke at a two-day media dialogue on European Union Niger Delta Water Project, in Port Harcourt on Monday, noted that the sanitation sector in Nigeria is severely under resourced, as sanitation is only 19 per cent of WASH budget.
He further added that only 39 per cent Nigerians use an improved toilet that is not shared by more than one household.
Over 46 million people still practice open defecation on Nigeria, with 32 percent living in rural areas and 12 percent in urban areas.
This figure is far from the Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG) target by 2030, which aims at achieving universal access to drinking water, sanitation and hygiene.
In his remarks, Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, who was represented by the principal information officer of the ministry, Toye Falayi, urged media partners to sustain advocacy for improve water sanitation and hygiene.