A group of activists in the Niger Delta have accused former president Muhammadu Buhari of hiring unqualified contractors for the Ogoni cleanup project.

The activists also accused government officials of using “kickbacks and kick-fronts” to frustrate the project.

The groups are Ogoni-American Organisations, National Union of Ogoni Students (NOUS), Centre for Democracy Human Rights and Anti-Corruption (CDHRAC) and Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP).

In a statement jointly signed by the President of NOUS Int’l USA, Pius Nwinee; its secretary general, Sampson Npimnee; coordinator, CDHRAC’s Cornelius Dumerenee; and secretary general, Toate Ganago, the group urged President Bola Tinubu’s government to ensure a total cleanup of oil spills in Ogoniland, Rivers State.

They enjoined President Tinubu to compensate Ogoni people for the loss they had suffered over the years.

The statement reads: “NUOS Intl, CDHRAC and MOSOP wish to call on the Ministry of Niger Delta Development to ensure a total cleanup of Ogoniland and compensate the people of the area for the loss they have suffered over the years.

“Our people have been deprived of their means of livelihood and they have been left to suffer in a nation where they have contributed a lot to through their natural resources.

Rather than developing Ogoniland through the cleanup projects embarked upon by the ministry few years back, what has plagued the project is the government and HYPREP kickback and kickfront, the government’s refusal to hire competent international remediation firms and HYPREP hiring unqualified contractors that perpetuate more contamination in the area.”

The activists said time had come for the government to correct what they termed the anomaly of the past, adding, “We are calling on the new administration of President Bola Tinubu to make life better for our people. There is no way life would continue the way it is in the area at the moment.”

Recall that Ogoniland, which has several oil-bearing communities, is among the major areas affected by crude oil spill since the discovery of oil in the region.