Otunba Gbenga Olarinoye, a public affairs commentator, stated that President Buhari should be commended for embarking on the project. He stressed that “the recommendation of Ogoni Clean-up is not new. It has been on the drawing board for several years and previous administrations and governments deem it not fit to implement it.
“I am also so sure that but for the present agitation by the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) and other militant groups, Buhari administration probably would have taken the same step like the previous administrations which kept mute on the development.”
In commending President Buhari, Olarinoye stressed that even “the son of the soil”, former President Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, who was in power for six tears, never bordered to do the clean-up of Ogoniland. Having said this, Buhari should be commended for taking the bold step to commence the clean-up of Ogoni land.
“I think clean -up exercise has been drawn into three segments, short term, middle term and long term. The long term measure between 20-25years would gulp several million of dollars, but I believe the journey of 100 years begins with first step.
“Though, there was no provision of the clean-up in the 2016 budget, but the exigency of the present development demands that the exercise would begin immediately. The government has an opportunity to prepare a supplementary budget to take care of the project, even on a short term basis.”
