President Muhammadu Buhari will launch the Ogoni land clean up exercise this Thursday, June 2, amid growing pipeline vandalism in the Niger Delta region.
The clean-up exercise is coming as concern continues to grow in the Niger Delta region over neglect by successive Nigerian governments. Over 50 years of gas flaring and oil exploration by International Oil Companies (IOCs) have resulted in environmental degradation and oil spillage, with farmlands and aquatic lives destroyed.
In the last few months, agitations within the region have seen disgruntled youths under the aegis of Niger Delta Avenger (NDA) taking up arms and blowing up oil and gas installations with devastating effect on Nigeria’s crude production output and electricity supply, and with dire consequence on the ailing economy.
However, as a way of lessening tension in the region, Amina Mohammed, minister of environment, during her visit to Bodo in Gokana Local Government Area of Rivers State, to inspect an oil spill clean up demonstration, confirmed that President Muhammadu Buhari would launch the Ogoni clean up this week.
Chijioke Amu-Nnadi, head of corporate affairs unit, Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), in a statement made available to the media, quoted Mohammed as saying that the President had given assurances that the area would be cleaned up in fulfilment of his electioneering promise to people of the Niger Delta.
“I can confirm that President Buhari will visit Ogoni land on June 2 to flag-off clean up of oil spills in the area as recommended in the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report.
“Buhari would return to Ogoni land where he inaugurated a fish pond in 1984 where the once flourishing pond regrettably had been destroyed by oil pollution,” according to the release.
The statement also quoted Ibim Semenitari, acting managing director of NDDC, as saying that the clean was of utmost importance to the commission.
“Ogonis are united behind this effort by the Federal Government to clean up their environment, and as such, the people will help in ensuring sustainability of the clean up,’’ Semenitari said.
Source: BusinessDay
