BEVERLY HILLS, January 30, (THEWILL) – President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday revealed that the militancy witnessed in the Niger-Delta region in times past was as a result of the non-cleanup of oil spillages in the region especially in Ogoniland.
He consequently vowed to clean up the land by implementing the recommendations made by the United Nations Environmental Programme, UNEP, on how to save the land.
The President, who made this pledge when he visited the United Nations Office in Nairobi, the Kenyan capital, appealed for more support from the United Nations in the clean up of the region.
According to him, “When I came into office on May 29, 2015, one of the first tasks I carried out was to authorise the implementation of the recommendations of the UNEP report for the clean-up of Ogoniland.
“The devastation caused by oil spillage has destroyed many lives and livelihoods and is clearly one of the reasons many people in that region lost faith in government and resorted to the many criminal activities we are seeing in the region today.
“The action our government took to implement UNEP’s recommendations has given the indigenes of the region hope that there are better days ahead. Let me, therefore, express appreciation on behalf of the Government of Nigeria to UNEP and other development partners for their cooperation and support on this very delicate matter and also request for their continued support as we implement the recommendations and transform the fortunes of the region.”
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