– As Ex- Bauchi RUWASSA GM, Magaji bags ODF champion award
By Muslim Lawal
The Federal Ministry of Water Resources has honoured Bauchi State with the 2022 National Open Defecation Free (ODF) achievement award in recognition of the state’s remarkable performance in the implementation of Water and Sanitation programmes.
Similarly, the immediate past General Manager and Permanent Secretary of the Bauchi State Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency (RUWASSA), Engineer Garba Babaji Magaji, has also bagged the 2022 Open Defecation Free (ODF) champion award.
The Minister of Water Resources, Engr. Sulaiman Adamu who was the Chief Host of the Summit, supported by the Honorable Minister of Information, Alh. Lai Mohammed, presented the state’s award and that of the former General Manager of RUWASSA at the 2022 World Toilet Summit gala night in Abuja, said the award was in recognition of the state government’s efforts in the sanitation sub-sector.
The minister reaffirmed the commitment of the federal government through the Ministry to strengthen its partnership with government at all levels and all the development partners in the WASH sector to accelerate the “clean Nigeria: Use of the toilet” campaign to end open defecation in Nigeria.
The Bauchi State Commissioner for Water Resources, Alhaji Ahmed Aliyu Jalam, who received the state’s award on behalf of Governor Bala Mohammed reiterated the desire of the state government to sustain its gains in WASH service delivery for the well-being and welfare of both rural and urban communities.
Receiving the award, Engineer Garba Magaji who is now the Programme Coordinator of the Bauchi State FGN/AfDB Inclusive Basic Service Delivery and Livelihood Empowerment Integrated Programme (IBSDLEIP), attributed the successes recorded by Bauchi RUWASSA under his leadership to the outstanding support of the state government.
Engineer Garba Magaji assured that Bauchi State FGN/AfDB (IBSDLEIP) is committed to the realization of all the laudable objectives of the programme, including contributing to the achievement of the sanitation SDG6.2 and advocated for increased investment in WASH service delivery for all communities in Bauchi State and Nigeria at large to be declared Open Defecation Free (ODF) for the improvement of the health and wellbeing of our vulnerable populations.
“I want to use this medium to express my profound appreciation and gratitude to the Federal Ministry of Water Resources for finding me worthy to be among the recipients of the 2022 ODF champion award. This is a great honor to me and I dedicate the award to the Bauchi State Government and RUWASSA for giving me the opportunity to serve.”
