Over 1,000 Nigerians in South Africa have been screened for evacuation and will no longer have to pay for their return flights to Nigeria, officials have said.
These follow the xenophobic attacks in South Africa targeting citizens of African countries, including Nigerians.
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PREMIUM TIMES reports that the Nigerian government had earlier said at least 300 Nigerians had indicated interest in returning home from South Africa. The government said at the time that the returnees would pay for their own flights.
However, on Saturday, a foreign ministry spokesperson said the returnees would no longer have to pay for their flights.
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Kimiebi Ebienfa, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in a telephone interview that the returnees would not make any payment and the ministry would deploy aircraft to bring them home.
According to him, the screening of Nigerians in South Africa who registered for evacuation will end on Saturday.
“The process, which commenced on June 4, is a joint exercise involving the Nigerian High Commission in Pretoria, the South African Department of International Relations and Cooperation, as well as the South African Police and immigration authorities,” NAN quotes Mr Ebienfa as saying.
“At the end of the screening, we will have a definite number of persons cleared for evacuation.
“Thereafter, we will finalise arrangements for the deployment of aircraft to bring them home,” he said.
In a separate interview with NAN, the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), Abike Dabiri-Erewa, said on Saturday that over 1,000 Nigerians in South Africa have undergone screening for the voluntary repatriation.
Mrs Dabiri-Erewa said the screening was being conducted jointly by the Nigerian High Commission in Pretoria and South Africa’s Department of Home Affairs.
According to her, Saturday marked the third day of the exercise for Nigerians intending to voluntarily return home from South Africa.
“The turnout at the High Commission of Nigeria in Pretoria has been truly impressive.
“The screening started early on Saturday, and Nigerians came out in large numbers to participate in the process.
“In spite of the emotional atmosphere surrounding the prevailing tensions and uncertainty, the exercise has been smooth, peaceful, organised, and highly professional under the supervision of Nigeria’s Acting High Commissioner, Amb. Olatunde Ajayi.
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“More than 1,000 Nigerians have registered for the voluntary evacuation, and many more are registering.”
Mrs Dabiri-Erewa indicated that President Bola Tinubu has approved funding for the evacuation flights.
“All things being equal, the flights are expected to commence next week through Air Peace, as President Bola Tinubu has approved funds for that purpose,” she said.
Mrs Dabiri-Erewa added that five flights are expected to be deployed for the repatriation, with the first batch of evacuees scheduled to depart for Nigeria next week.
PREMIUM TIMES reports that Nigeria is not the only African country evacuating its citizens from South Africa. Ghana has evacuated over 300 Ghanaians from South Africa since the latest wave of xenophobic attacks commenced over a month ago.
