Abuja, Nigeria. March 10th, 2015 – Latest snap poll results released by NOIPolls Limited have revealed that almost half of Nigerian households (48 percent) especially from North-East zone (69 percent) reported that access to clean water is a challenge to them. This figure represents a 1-point increase in this proportion of Nigerians from 2013 (47%), showing that in a span of two years (February 2013- March 2015) there has been no tangible improvement in the accessibility of water to Nigerians. More findings revealed that a significant proportion of Nigerians identified sachet water, popularly known as ‘Pure water’ (29 percent) as the major source of drinking water in their homes; representing a 2-point increase from 2013. While this source of drinking water might be affordable and easily accessible to Nigerians, its hygiene and quality has been questioned by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) especially due to the process of packaging. This has led to the closure of several sachet water factories by NAFDAC; For instance, in 2013, 54 sachet water factories were closed in Suleja and Minna of Niger state due to quality of production. Other sources of drinking water cited by respondents include; ‘tap water’ (18 percent) ‘private borehole’ (17 percent), and ‘public borehole’ (14 percent), amongst other sources. These figures represent an increase in the proportion of Nigerians who have access to tap water (7-points) and public bore holes (8-points) in 2015 from 2013; thus indicating a progress in the federal government’s efforts through its ministry for water resources in providing portable water to Nigerian citizens through reformation programmes and several commissioned projects in various states. Nevertheless, access to clean water still remains a major issue to Nigerians to some extent as indicated by a high proportion (72 percent: 47 percent+25 percent) of respondents in this category. More findings revealed that toilets connected to private septic tanks are the most used sanitation facilities as reported by the majority of Nigerians (74 percent), while a significant proportion (22 percent) use pit latrine in their homes; representing an 11-points increase from 2013. This is mostly true for respondents from the North-West zone (45 percent). These are some of the key findings from the Access to Clean Water and Sanitation poll conducted in the week of March 2rd 2015. Brief Background The importance of clean water to human health cannot be over emphasized, water is life, yet supply to most cities in Nigeria is still a challenge. Safe drinking water and basic sanitation are of great importance for safeguarding human health, especially children. Diseases related to the consumption of poor quality water have been identified as the major causes of the high rate of children’s illnesses and deaths, as a result of infectious diarrhoea especially in developing countries[3]. The Global Assessment of Water Supply and Sanitation data, produced by the World Health Organisation (WHO)/ United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) Joint Monitoring Program, describes reasonable access to water supply as ‘the availability of at least 20 litres per person per day from a source within one kilometre of the user’s dwelling’. One is not unaware of the fact that this is near impossible in Nigeria. This is evident as most residents in the rural area either resort to private wells, streams or rivers for the means of water they use daily, while among the over 90 million people living in the urban and semi-urban areas, less than half have reasonable access to reliable water supply[4]. Nigeria has been grappling with issues of water scarcity across a number of its states. Increasing population, rising demands for food and cash crops, increasing urbanization and rising standards of living are the major factors leading to shortage in supply of fresh waters. This ugly situation has compelled many households, often in the lower class, to end up buying water from water vendors. While the federal government through its agencies is making efforts to providing portable water to Nigerians, it is imperative for the government to revive and increase the capacity of the water corporations to deliver potable water supply to the people and at a reasonable cost. Against this background, NOIPolls conducted its recent poll on access to clean water and sanitation. The poll explored the accessibility of clean water to Nigerians, the level of challenge faced in accessing clean water and the awareness of any water or sanitation related project currently running in their localities. The poll also shows trends when compared to the previous Access to clean water and Sanitation poll conducted in February 2013. Survey Findings Respondents to the poll were asked five specific questions. Firstly, to identify the sources of clean drinking water to Nigerian households, respondents were asked: How do you currently get access to drinking water at your home? The result shows that most Nigerians use ‘pure water’ (29 percent) as the major source of drinking water in their homes. This is followed by respondents who cited ‘tap water’ (18 percent) ‘private borehole’ (17 percent), ‘public borehole’ (14 percent), and ‘bottled water’ (8 percent) as their main source of drinking water amongst other sources. Analysis by geo-political zone reveal that the North-Central (37 percent) and South-West (36 percent) zones accounted for the largest proportion of Nigerians whose source of drinking water is pure water, while the North-East zone (41 percent) has the highest number of respondents who indicated tap water as their main source of drinking water. In addition, the South-East zone (33 percent) accounted for the largest proportion of Nigerians who indicated private borehole as their source of drinking water When the current results are compared with findings obtained in 2013, a 2-points increase is revealed in the proportion of Nigerians who use pure water as their main source of drinking water. Also, a significant proportion of Nigerians have sought more economical ways of accessing drinking water. This is evident in the decline in the proportion of Nigerians who use private bore holes (8-points) and bottled water (11-points) as well as a corresponding increase in the proportion of Nigerians who use tap water (7-points) and public bore holes (8-points) in accessing drinking water for their homes. These findings also confirms the federal government’s commitment in providing portable water to Nigerians through its ministry of water resources by the commissioning of several reformation projects across the nation both in the urban and rural areas.[5] To mention a few, in late 2013, 12 states including Kano, Gombe, Benue, Jigawa, Ondo, Abia, Bayelsa, Anambra, and Plateau and Federal Capital Territory benefited from N64.3b urban water supply projects initiated from the National Urban Water Sector Reform Programme (NUWSRP). Also, in 2014, federal government awarded contracts for water projects in 4 South-West states including Lagos, Ogun, Oyo and Osun States.[6] Subsequently, respondents were asked: Is access to clean water a challenge to you and your household? Responses revealed that almost half of the respondents (48 percent) affirmed that access to clean water is a challenge to them and their household with majority of respondents from this group representing the North-East zone (69 percent), while 52 percent of Nigerians surveyed revealed that access to clean water is not a challenge to them and their household; with a larger share of the respondents from this category representing the South-West zone (66 percent). Trend analysis shows a slight 1-point increase in the proportion of respondents who indicated that access to clean water is a challenge to them in 2015 from 2013 (47 percent). In order to ascertain the degree of challenge Nigerians face in accessing clean water, respondents who said yes in the previous question (48 percent of the total) were further asked: To what extent is access to clean water a challenge to your household? The result indicates that 72 percent (47 percent+25 percent) of the respondents stated that access to clean water is a challenge to their households to some extent. This is mostly true for majority of the respondents from the North-West zone (77 percent). On the other hand, 28 percent indicated to a little extent with a larger proportion of Nigerians in this category aged between 18 – 21 years (55 percent). Current poll result represents a 9-points increase from 2013, in the proportion of respondents who reported that access to clean water to a large extent is a challenge to their household. Furthermore, respondents were asked: What type of sanitation facility (toilet) do you currently have at your home? Toilets connected to private septic tanks are the most used sanitation facilities as reported by the larger proportion of (74 percent) of Nigerians, whereas, 22 percent uses pit latrine at their homes. In addition, 2 percent say their sanitation facility is connected to the public sewage system and this is only obtainable in the North-Central zone. More analysis by geo-political zone indicated that the South-East and the South-South zone accounted for the highest number of respondents (93 percent) whose sanitation facility is connected to private septic tanks, while the North-East zone (43 percent) and the North West zone (45 percent) have the largest proportion of Nigerians who uses pit latrine. Trend evaluation shows an 11-points increase in the percentage of respondents who uses pit latrine and a 5-points decline in the proportion of Nigerians whose toilets are connected to private septic tanks in 2015 from 2013. Finally, respondents were asked: Are you aware of any water and sanitation related projects going on in your locality? The overwhelming majority (81 percent) of respondents surveyed claimed that they are not aware of any water and sanitation related projects going on in their locality and this cuts across gender, geo-political zone and age-group. However, 19 percent of Nigerians confirmed that they are aware of water and sanitation related projects going on in their locality with a higher percentage of this group representing the North-East zone (32 percent). Trend assessment shows a significant 9-points increase in the proportion of Nigerians who are aware of water and sanitation related projects in their locality in 2015 from 2013. This is so as more Nigerians currently benefit from such projects compared to previous years as seen in a previous chart. In conclusion, currents poll results have revealed that most Nigerians rely on ‘pure water’ (29 percent) as their major source of drinking water in their homes, while others use ‘tap water’ (18 percent) and ‘private borehole’ (17 percent) amongst other means. Also, almost half of the respondents (48 percent) stated that access to clean water is a challenge to them and their household out of which 72 percent of this respondents claimed that this challenge is to a large extent. More findings revealed that toilets connected to private septic tanks are the most used sanitation facility as reported by majority (74 percent) of Nigerians, moreover, a significant proportion of Nigerians 22 percent use pit latrine in their homes amongst other facilities. Finally, only 19 percent of respondents surveyed claimed that they are aware of water and sanitation related projects going on in their locality. Survey Methods The opinion poll was conducted in the week 2rd March 2015. It involved telephone interviews of a random nationwide sample. 1,000 randomly selected phone-owning Nigerians aged 18 years and above, representing the six geopolitical zones in the country, were interviewed. With a sample of this size, we can say with 95 percent confidence that the results obtained are statistically precise – within a range of plus or minus 3 percent. NOIPolls Limited, No1 for country specific polling services in West Africa, which works in technical partnership with the Gallup Organisation (USA), to conduct periodic opinion polls and studies on various socio-economic and political issues in Nigeria. More information is available at www.noi-polls.com Disclaimer This press release has been produced by NOIPolls Limited to provide information on all issues which form the subject matter of the document. Kindly note that while we are willing to share results from our polls with the general public, we only request that NOIPolls be acknowledged as author whenever and wherever our poll results are used, cited or published. NOIPolls hereby certifies that all the views expressed in this document accurately reflect its views of respondents surveyed for the poll, and background information is based on information from various sources that it believes are reliable; however, no representation is made that it is accurate or complete. Whilst reasonable care has been taken in preparing this document, no responsibility or liability is accepted for errors or fact or for any views expressed herein by NOIPolls for actions taken as a result of information provided in this report. Any ratings, forecasts, estimates, opinions or views herein constitute a judgment as at the date of this document. If the date of this document is not current, the views and content may not reflect NOIPolls’ current findings and/or thinking. Press Contact The Editor Email: editor@noi-polls.com [1] http://www.informationng.com/2014/12/nafdac-begins-nationwide-laboratory-test-of-pure-water.html [2] http://www.informationng.com/2014/12/nafdac-begins-nationwide-laboratory-test-of-pure-water.html [3]http://www.worldwatercouncil.org/index.php?id. [4] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK11755/ [5] http://nwsrp.gov.ng/abt.php?dg=1 [6]http://www.premiumtimesng.com/regional/ssouth-west/172006-nigerian-government-awards-contracts-water-projects-4-southwest-states.html

Abuja, Nigeria. April 12th, 2016 –Latest public opinion poll results released by NOIPolls have revealed that most Nigerians have expressed great concern over the recent increase in weather temperature across the country resulting into a spate of heatwave. This is evidenced by the findings where a vast majority of respondents (94 percent) attested to a recent change in temperature in their locality. Consequently, 80 percent cited ‘increase in heat’ as the major noticeable change in weather and this is in line with recent weather forecasts by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET) with temperature forecasts as high as 42°C in some parts of the country. In light of these findings, Nigerians have cited ‘tiredness/fatique’ (30 percent), ‘Headache’ (29 percent), ‘Rashes’ (24 percent) and ‘Dehydration’ (21 percent) among others as the obvious effects of this change in weather. Moreover medical experts have warned that extreme exposure to high temperatures can lead to serious health implications and even death especially among children and the aged. In line with this, the recent deaths of 20 children in Eti-Osa area of Lagos State has been attributed to measles and meningitis caused by excessive heat, with other deaths recorded in Benue, Niger, Sokoto, Kano, Katsina, and Kebbi States among others. [1] While Nigerians are mindful of some of the effects of high temperatures, findings also showed that Nigerians are knowledgeable of some measures for managing the heatwave. In this light, most respondents (44 percent) were of the opinion that the frequent use of an ‘air conditioner or fan’ could be a way of managing this increase in temperature. Other measures identified include ‘keeping rooms well ventilated at night’ (28 percent), ‘drinking a lot of water’ (27 percent) and bathing regularly with cold water’ (11 percent) amongst others. Interestingly, these responses are in line with Dr. Eddie Wolff’s report on how to manage high temperatures.[2] Furthermore, when the issue of awareness was assessed, only 2 in 10 Nigerians showed awareness of the recent warning communicated by NIMET on expected change in weather temperature. This highlights a gap in sensitization and enlightenment of the public; thus there is need for public agencies responsible for climate change and other environmental issues to rise up to the responsibility of sensitization on the issue of expected changes in weather temperature, implications for the general public and agricultural sector and possible measures to mitigate the negative impact of the changes especially in public areas such as schools, market places and religious gatherings. These are the key findings from the latest Heat Wave Poll conducted by NOIPolls in the week of April 4th 2016. Brief Background Global warming has steadily been on the incline the world over resulting in extreme temperatures and as a subset of the global environment, it is only expected that Nigeria would experience the effects of global warming and climate change as experienced in other parts of the globe. The recent increase in heat as attested to by a majority of Nigerians in what is supposed to be a time for rains is a major index of the growth rate of global warming, with tempratures climbing to as high as 40°C in some parts of the country. Nigeria has been experiencing an unusually excruciating hot weather with a sprinkling of rain falls which can be ascribed to the supposed transition from the dry season to the rainy season which is peculiar to the month of March, this could also be attributed to the global average air temperature of the earth hitting 1°C hotter than it was at the start of the twentieth century. This rise in temperature is not only typical to Nigeria as 11 people died in Cape Town in South Africa and during the summer heat wave in Northern France in August 2003, exceptionally high temperatures during the day and night for a period of three weeks killed 15,000 people and the large majority were older people. Also, according to statistics,[3] there were over 2,000 deaths in England in the same year. Over crowding, stagnant atmospheric conditions, over exposure to heat and over excercising are some factors that will expose a human to the effects of heat. People living in urban areas are more likely to experience hotter conditions than those residing in rural areas because of over-population and deforestation.[4] Some effects of heat like dehydration impairs both the physical and mental performance of humans, others like fatique and stress causes depletion of blood flow which may lead to hypertension and high blood pressure.[5] Heat has also been known to cause convulsions in children and menegitis which could lead to death. The Nigerian Meteorological Agencies (NIMET), a federal government agency charged with issuing weather (and climate) forecasts has advised Nigerians to prepare for a future with more hot days, warm nights and heat waves[6]. Although Nigeria is in the tropics, there still exists a dire need for smart adaptation strategies and engaging in climate resilient practices to cope with the damage that this change in temperature might cause. Against this background, NOIPolls conducted its recent public opinion poll to gauge the awareness and perceptions of Nigerians regarding change in temperature as well as evaluate how they can manage these extreme situations. Survey Findings In the light of the recent temperature rise and prevailing heat waves in Nigeria and other African countries,[7] the Nigerian Metroelogical Agency (NIMET) on 29th march 2016 warned Nigerians to brace up for more hot days, warm nights and heat waves across the country, because of the long residence of greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere.[8] In line with the above, this survey results revealed that 94 percent of respondents have experienced a change in temperature in their localities. This cuts across gender, geo-political zones and age-groups. Interestingly, the findings also show residents from the Northern region accounted for the largest proportion of Nigerians who experienced change in temperature in recent times. On the other hand, a meagre 6 percent responded negatively to this statement. Subsequently, in ascertaining the exact kind of temprature change expereinced, respondents high-lighted ‘increase in heat’(80 percent) and the North-East zone accounted for the largest proportion of Nigerians in this category. This further supports the statement by the Director General of the Nigerian Metreological Agency that rainfall season this year would be characterised by late onset especially in the Northern parts of the country.[9] Also, 15 percent of respondents specified that they have experienced ‘extremely hot temprature’ lately and that the South-West zone (22 percent) and North-Central zone (21 percent) had the highest percentage of respondents in this category.On the other hand, 5 percent of respondents claimed that they experienced a ‘low temprature’ in their localities and residents from the South-South zone accounted for the largest proportion of Nigerians in this group. Despite the prevalence of these heat waves, temperature levels are bound to differ across different times of the day. In view of this, findings revealed that a significant proportion (53 percent) of Nigerians affirmed that they experienced changes in temperature during the day and residents from the North-East zone (66 percent) have the largest fraction of Nigerians who experienced change in temperature during the day. This is consistent with the findings of Peter Akpodiogaga, which revealed that increasing temperature and decreasing rainfall in the North East region is as a result of the expansion of the Sahara Desert located close to this region[10]. This is followed closely by 42 percent of the respondents who said they experience temperature change mostly at night. Other findings show that 8 percent of the respondents experience these changes in the morning, while, another 8 percent stated that they experience change in temperature throughout the day. Survey results revealed that the major effects of the change in temperature as indicated by Nigerians are ‘tiredness/fatique’ (30 percent), ‘Headache’ (29 percent), ‘Rashes’ (24 percent) and ‘Dehydration’ (21 percent) among other effects. Furthermore, findings revealed that most Nigerians (44 percent) prefer to use ‘air conditioner or fan’ to manage the increase in temperature. Also, more female (47 percent) than male respondents (41 percent) indicated air conditioner or fan and this is consistent with a study by two Dutch Scientist which revealed that women have a lower tolerance for hot weather since their bodies produce more heat at a resting metabolic rate, getting warmer quicker than the men.[11] Other ways identified are ‘keeping rooms well ventilated at night’ (28 percent), ‘drinking a lot of water’ (27 percent) and bathing regularly with cold water’ (11 percent). amongst other. The Nigeria Metrological Agency (NIMET) has warned that there will be less than normal, delayed and early cessation of rainfall than previous years across most parts of the country[12]. The level of awareness regarding the information by NIMET was assessed and the result shows that 8 in 10 Nigerians stated that they are not aware of the information. This high ignorance level infers that the agency should intensify sensitization and enlightenment in order to create the much-needed awareness on the issue. Contrarily, 20 percent acknowledged awareness of the warning. In conclusion, this survey has revealed that 94 percent of the respondents have experienced a change in temperature in their localities with 80 percent of this proportion experiencing an increase in temperature mostly during the day.Temperature change affects every facet of society; economies, environments and cultures. As a result, policy makers, planners, decision makers and other stakeholders should increasingly seek more information on the nature of extreme temperature. Individually and collectively, such insights increase the capacity to manage the risks associated with temperature change, and thereby reducing the consequences that society might otherwise have suffered. It is also very imperative for the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET) and other stakeholders to device more effective means of disseminating information concerning temperature change as a significant 80 percent of Nigerians are still unaware of the advice by NIMET on change in temperature. Survey Methods The opinion poll was conducted in the week of April 4th 2016. It involved telephone interviews of a random nationwide sample. 1,000 randomly selected phone-owning Nigerians aged 18 years and above, representing the six geopolitical zones in the country, were interviewed. With a sample of this size, we can say with 95% confidence that the results obtained are statistically precise – within a range of plus or minus 3%. NOIPolls Limited is the No1 for country specific polling services in West Africa. We conduct periodic opinion polls and studies on various socio-economic and political issues in Nigeria. More information is available at www.noi-polls.com Disclaimer This press release has been produced by NOIPolls Limited to provide information on all issues which form the subject matter of the document. Kindly note that while we are willing to share results from our polls with the general public, we only request that NOIPolls be acknowledged as author whenever and wherever our poll results are used, cited or published. NOIPolls hereby certifies that all the views expressed in this document accurately reflect its views of respondents surveyed for the poll, and background information is based on information from various sources that it believes are reliable; however, no representation is made that it is accurate or complete. Whilst reasonable care has been taken in preparing this document, no responsibility or liability is accepted for errors or fact or for any views expressed herein by NOIPolls for actions taken as a result of information provided in this report. Any ratings, forecasts, estimates, opinions or views herein constitute a judgment as at the date of this document. If the date of this document is not current, the views and content may not reflect NOIPolls’ current findings and/or thinking. Press Contact The Editor Email: editor@noi-polls.com [1] http://www.lagosstatenews.com/eti-osa [2] http://www.702.co.za/articles/6313/managing-heatwave [3] http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/learning/learn-about-the-weather/weather-phenomena/case-studies/heatwave [4] http://nema.gov.ng/heat-extreme/ [5] http://www.coolcanuck.com/Effects%20of%20Heat%20on%20the%20Body [6] http://nimet.gov.ng/publications [7] http://ladership.ng/news/506296/battling-impacts-heat-wave-nigeriae [8] http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/03/prepare-hot-days-warm-nights-nimet-warns-nigerians/ [9] http://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2016/03/11/nimet-predicts-less-rainfall-in-2016-2/ [10]http://krepublishers.com/02-Journals/JHE/JHE-29-0-000-10-Web/JHE-29-1-000-10-Abst-PDF/JHE-29-1-047-10-1993-Odjugo-P-A-O/JHE-29-1-047-10-1993-Odjugo-P-A-O-Tt.pdf [11] http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-33760845 [12] http://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2016/03/11/nimet-predicts-less-rainfall-in-2016-2/

Abuja, Nigeria. June 7th, 2016 – The World Environment Day (WED) was commemorated on June 5th 2016 with the theme ‘Join the race to make the world a better place’. The celebration which started since 1974 by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) has a major focus on environmental sustainability. Angola was the host country for the 2016 celebration and it was to encourage their effort in seeking to restore its elephant herds, conserve Africa’s biodiversity-rich wildlife, and safe-guard the environment as it continues to rebuild after more than a quarter century of civil war[1] Also, two days to the World Environmental Day, the Vice President Yemi Osibanjo visited Ogoni land to flag off the ‘Ogoni clean-up’campaign. The clean-up of the heavily polluted Ogoni land was in response to the recommendation given by the United Nation Environmental Program, UNEP, in its report in 2011. The campaign was to ensure thatthe regulators of oil industry carry out their responsibilities in line with global best practices while avoiding water pollution and destruction of aquatic ecology[2]. Water is an essential and the most important part of our environment after oxygen. Most diseases and illnesses are as a result of poor sanitation and dirty or polluted waters. Access to clean water in Nigeria has remained an important issue when it comes to basic amenities. Over 57 million Nigerians do not have access to clean water in Nigeria while 130 million people don’t have access to adequate sanitation; this is two-thirds of the population. Also around 68,000 children under five years old die every year from diarrhea caused by unsafe water and poor sanitation[3]. In view of the world environment day celebration, NOIPolls Limited presents a throwback poll on ‘access to clean water’ conducted in March 2015, as a follow up to the one conducted in February 2013 to ascertain the sources of and level of access to clean water in Nigeria. Excerpts of Findings from NOIPolls’ Access to Clean Water poll. Results showed that most Nigerians mainly indicated ‘pure water’ (29 percent) as the major source of drinking water in their homes. This is followed by respondents who cited ‘tap water’ (18 percent) ‘private borehole’ (17 percent), ‘public borehole’ (14 percent), and ‘bottled water’ (8 percent) as their main source of drinking water amongst other sources. Analysis by geo-political zone revealed that the North-Central (37 percent) zone accounted for the largest proportion of Nigerians whose source of drinking water is pure water, the North-East zone (41 percent) for tap water and the South-East zone (33 percent) accounted for the largest proportion of Nigerians who mentioned private boreholes as their source of drinking water. When the 2015 results were compared with findings obtained in 2013, a 2-points increase was revealed in the proportion of Nigerians who use pure water as their main source of drinking water. (Also there was a decline in the proportion of Nigerians who use private bore holes (8-points) and bottled water (11-points) as well as a corresponding increase in the proportion of Nigerians who use tap water (7-points) and public bore holes (8-points) in accessing drinking water for their homes. The poll also revealed that almost half of the respondents (48 percent) affirmed that access to clean water is a challenge to them and their household with majority of respondents from this group representing the North-East zone (69 percent), while 52 percent of the Nigerians surveyed revealed that access to clean water is not a challenge to them and their household; with a larger share of the respondents from this category representing the South-West zone (66 percent). Trend analysis showed a slight 1-point increase in the proportion of respondents who indicated that access to clean water is a challenge to them in 2015 from 2013 (47 percent). The poll also sought to evaluate sanitation facilities used by Nigerians and findings revealed that toilets connected to private septic tanks were the most used sanitation facilities as reported by the larger proportion (74 percent) of Nigerians, whereas, 22 percent confirmed they use pit latrine at their homes. Also, 2 percent indicated their sanitation facility is connected to the public sewage system and this was only obtainable in the North-Central zone. More analysis by geo-political zone indicated that the South-East and the South-South zone accounted for the highest number of respondents (93 percent) who indicated their sanitation facility is connected to private septic tanks, while the North-East zone (43 percent) and the North West zone (45 percent) had the largest proportion of Nigerians who indicated the use of pit latrine. Trend evaluation showed an 11-points increase in the percentage of respondents who reported they use pit latrines and a 5-points decline in the proportion of Nigerians whose toilets are connected to private septic tanks in 2015 from 2013. In conclusion, the poll results revealed that most Nigerians relied on ‘pure water’ (29 percent) as their major source of drinking water in their homes, while others mentioned the use of ‘tap water’ (18 percent) and ‘private borehole’ (17 percent) amongst other means. Also, almost half of the respondents (48 percent) stated that access to clean water was a challenge to them and their household out of which 72 percent of these respondents claimed that this challenge is to a large extent. More findings revealed that toilets connected to private septic tanks are the most used sanitation facility as reported by majority (74 percent) of Nigerians. Moreover, a significant proportion of Nigerians 22 percent use pit latrine in their homes amongst other facilities. Finally, in reflection on this years’ world environmental day, it is pertinent for the above data be used by the responsible agencies for more proactive approach in ensuring adequate access to clean water and sanitation facilities, while sensitizing Nigerians on the importance of proper sanitation and water hygiene in order to minimize hygiene related health issues in Nigeria. Survey Methods The opinion poll was conducted in the week 2rd March 2015. It involved telephone interviews of a random nationwide sample. 1,000 randomly selected phone-owning Nigerians aged 18 years and above, representing the six geopolitical zones in the country, were interviewed. With a sample of this size, we can say with 95% confidence that the results obtained are statistically precise – within a range of plus or minus 3%. NOIPolls Limited is the No1 for country specific polling services in West Africa. We conduct periodic opinion polls and studies on various socio-economic and political issues in Nigeria. More information is available at www.noi-polls.com Disclaimer This press release has been produced by NOIPolls Limited to provide information on all issues which form the subject matter of the document. Kindly note that while we are willing to share results from our polls with the general public, we only request that NOIPolls be acknowledged as author whenever and wherever our poll results are used, cited or published. NOIPolls hereby certifies that all the views expressed in this document accurately reflect its views of respondents surveyed for the poll, and background information is based on information from various sources that it believes are reliable; however, no representation is made that it is accurate or complete. Whilst reasonable care has been taken in preparing this document, no responsibility or liability is accepted for errors or fact or for any views expressed herein by NOIPolls for actions taken as a result of information provided in this report. Any ratings, forecasts, estimates, opinions or views herein constitute a judgment as at the date of this document. If the date of this document is not current, the views and content may not reflect NOIPolls’ current findings and/or thinking. Press Contact The Editor Email: editor@noi-polls.com [1] http://www.wed2016.com/ [2] http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/204564-osinbajo-flags-off-ogoni-cleanup-after-buhari-cancelled-trip.html [3] http://www.wateraid.org/ng