Lawmakers Want Befitting Toilets For Lagos

The Lagos State House of Assembly has directed the Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation to set a standard for the building and operation of public toilets in the state.

This was part of the recommendations of the report of the Committee on Women Affairs, Poverty Alleviation and Job Creation on the appalling state of public toilets in the State.

The House also ordered all eateries, public and private institutions to provide befitting toilets for their customers.

Presenting the report before the House, chairman of the committee, Omotayo Oduntan, recommended that unemployed men and women should be given priority in the operation and maintenance of the toilets rather than the employed who would not maintain the toilets as expected.

Oduntan’s committee also advised that “a monitoring team be set up by the Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation to inspect public toilets on regular basis in order to ensure hygienic environment and proper maintenance.”

The committee also recommended proper documentation of the number and sites of the toilets in the state be done by the ministries of the Environment and Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation.

“The Public needs to be enlightened on effective use of public toilets through the Ministry of Information and Strategy,” the recommendation stressed.

The committee further said that during its investigation, it was observed that the agreement between the Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation and the operators were not enforced as the operators defaulted with impunity adding that most of the operators who defaulted in their monthly payment were not sanctioned.

It would be recalled that the House at it plenary session of Tuesday, 7 February, 2012, mandated the Committee on Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation and Job Creation to investigate the appalling state of public toilets with a view to standardizing them.

—Eromosele Ebhomele