The Cross River State Commissioner for Information, Dr. Erasmus Ekpang, has vowed to leverage the full weight of the State’s media apparatus, including private outlets, to ensure that vital information on Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) activities reaches every corner of the State.
Dr. Ekpang made the pledge through the Ministry's Permanent Secretary, Mr. Anthony Okon, during the unveiling of four strategic WASH policy documents at the Metropolitan Hotel in Calabar.
The documents, unveiled on behalf of Governor Bassey Otu by the Secretary to the Government of the State, Prof. Anthony Owan-Enoh, includes, the Cross River State Open Defecation Prohibition Law, the Cross River State WASH Financing Strategy, the Basic Sanitation Access Roadmap and the Yala LGA WASH Strategic Plan.
He assured stakeholders that the Ministry would activate both public and private media platforms to sensitize citizens on WASH policies and best practices, effectively bridging the information gap between urban centers and remote rural communities.
The Commissioner also lauded Governor Otu for demonstrating the “requisite political will” to formulate these transformative policies.
He noted that the Governor’s proactive stance on WASH is poised to fundamentally reshape the State’s environmental and public health landscape.
“The Governor’s commitment is clear, and we shall use every available mouthpiece—from radio to digital media to ensure no community is left behind in this hygiene revolution,” Mr. Okon stated, quoting the Commissioner.
In his remarks, the State Coordinator of Self Help Africa(SHA), Mr Ferdinand Anok, said, “Through our intervention, we will continue to support the State. We are excited about the Government’s ownership of the WASH agenda and the release of ₦95 million annually to fund WASH activities in the State.
We remain committed to partnering with the State to ensure sustainable impact.”
Earlier, the Permanent Secretary, Ntunkae Offiong Ani Offiong, who represented the Commissioner for Local Government Affairs, Chief Victor Idem, assured line Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) as well as implementing partners of the ministry’s readiness to mobilize local government chairmen.
She said this was to ensure the programme’s actualization and save the lives of ordinary citizens at the grassroots, especially women and children, whom she described as the most vulnerable to waterborne diseases.
In his vote of thanks, the General Manager, Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency (RUWATSSA), Hon. Sunday Oko, thanked Governor Bassey Otu for providing the enabling environment for the actualization of the WASH roadmap in the State and pledged his Agency's readiness to drive the process and support full implementation of the policies.
Oko described the policies unveiling exercise as a turning point for the water sector in the State, noting that while Cross River once led WASH programmes in Nigeria before a relapse, the State is now ready to regain its glory days and become fully WASH-ready at all levels to become Open Defecation Free (ODF) soon.
By Nakanda Iyadim
