Buhari cancels trip to Rivers for Ogoniland cleanup

President Muhamamdu Buhari has cancelled his expected trip to the Ogoniland in the Niger Delta.

Buhari was expected to launch a much-delayed programme to clean up areas heavily polluted by oil exploration and production.

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo will now represent the President at the event.

The clean up of the heavily polluted Ogoni land was recommended by the United Nation Environmental Programme, UNEP, in its report in 2011.

Residents in the southern swamp areas, where oil giants such as Royal Dutch Shell and Chevron operate, have for years complained about the oil industry's pollution and about economic marginalisation by the government.

Some have taken up arms, and a surge in attacks on energy installations has cut Nigeria's oil output to a 20-year low.