Buhari’s $1Bn Ogoni Land Cleanup Senate Ready To Probe

Senate Probes Buhari’s $1Bn Ogoni Land Cleanup

The Senate on Tuesday initiated plans to probe the President Muhamadu Buhari’s Ogoni land cleanup as the legislature directed its committee on environment to investigate the implementation of the cleanup.

It is understood that the exercise, which was launched in 2016, is estimated to cost over $1 billion.

The decision of the Senate followed a motion moved by Sen. Oluremi Tinubu, Chairman, Senate Committee on Environment to mark the World Environment Day.

During plenary, the senate directed its committee to also assess the progress of the Great Green Wall programme initiated to control desertification in the country.

While moving the motion, Sen. Tinubu expressed dismay that despite the launch of the project, work has not commenced in the area.

Also lending voice on the matter, Sen. Magnus Abe agreed with her, as he said that there was nothing on ground yet to show that the clean up was designed to actually cleanup the area.

He said that farmlands were still polluted while rivers of oil spills still abound.

Abe urged the Federal Government to review the country environmental regeneration programmes to take care of environmental issues in the country..

Ogoni land is located in Rivers State on the coast of the Gulf of Guinea, east of the city of Port Harcourt.

It extends across the Local Government Areas (LGAs) of Khana, Gokhana, Eleme and Tae.

In a 2011 assessment of over 200 locations in Ogoniland by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), it was found that impacts of the 50 years of oil production in the region extended deeper than previously thought.

Due to oil spills, oil flaring, and waste discharge, the alluvial soil of the Niger Delta is no longer viable for agriculture.

source accessmedia