The cancellation, which has generated uproar particularly on social media, followed the threat of Niger Delta Avengers (NDA), a militant group, on the life of the president.
The group had asked Buhari to sign his “death warrant” before coming to the region.
In November 2014, former President Goodluck Jonathan cancelled his trip to Ogidigben, a community in Warri south-west local government, under a similar circumstance.
Jonathan was supposed to launch the $16 billion Export Processing Zone (EPZ), in the area, but the Ijaws who felt cheated protested because the site of the project was named after an Itsekiri community, without “giving credence to the contributions of the Ijaws whose land also hosted the EPZ”.
Government Ekpomukpolo, popularly known as Tompolo, a former commander of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), asked the former president to stay off from the ceremony until their demands were met.
The security men placed on alert for the planned visit of the president were withdrawn and the protesters celebrated the cancellation.