According to reports from an official of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), President Buhari will flag-off the clean-up of Ogoni land on June 2, 2016. The Acting Managing Director of NDDC, Ibim Semenitari, also praised Buhari for fulfilling his campaign promise to develop Ogoni land and the Niger-Delta region. Seminatari said:
“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.”
This was announced in a statement issued on Monday, May 30, 2016, by the NDDC Head of Corporate Affairs unit, Chijioke Amu-Nnadi. The President’s visit is coming on the heels of the inspection tour carried out by the minister of Environment, Amina Mohammed, who announced that the Buhari led administration is committed to cleaning up Ogoni land.
The exercise is in-line with recommendations made by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The NNDC official statement quoted the minister of environment saying “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. The Federal Government is coming back to restore the ecosystem to what it used to be and as such restore the peoples’ source of livelihood.”
“We are not just committed to implementing the UNEP report but we are also going beyond that by taking steps to improve security, good governance and economy of the Niger Delta region. I can assure that the clean-up exercise is only the beginning, as Mr President is focused on restoring hope to people of the region.”
Mohammed was at Numuu-Tekuru Waterfront in Bodo City, Gokana Local Government Area of Rivers State, venue of the flag off ceremony, to ascertain the level of work that has been done.