The Federal Government says it is committed to ensuring that Nigerians being evacuated from South Africa because of the Xenophobic attacks in South Africa are taken care of.
Yesterday the second batch of 315 Nigerians Evacuees from South Africa arrived the country.
The aircraft conveying them landed at the Murtala Mohammed International airport Lagos at 7.21pm.
The Evacuees where expected Tuesday but the trip was cancelled due to late landing permit granted the airline by the South African aviation authority.
This recent arrival brings the total of Evacuees so far evacuated is 502.
Chairman, Nigerians in the Diaspora Commission Mrs. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, the senior special Assistants on diaspora matters to the Lagos and Ondo state governors.
She said state governments they have reached out to have responded to their calls to complement the Federal Government’s assistance to the returnees
“States are all encouraged to support their indigenes so we profile them according to states”.
Senior special Assistants to the Lagos and Ondo state governors on diaspora matters,Jamiu Sanwo-Olu and Mrs. Olaseinde Vincente said their respective governors have put measures in place to properly reintegrate the returnees.
The Lagos State at the venue distributed N20,000 each to the Evacuees in addition to the N10,000 provided by the Federal Government and sim cards.
“We are supporting them in form of allowance in form of cash for them to integrate properly”.” We are talking already with the micro-credit agency in Ondo state”.
The South African returnees expressed appreciation to the Federal Government and the management of the Airpeace airline.
They said they were happy to be back home while also narrating their ordeal in that country.
“It is a terrible thing because the way they kill Nigerians, am happy to be back home, Xenophobia started since 2018, south Africa did not know that Nigeria will evacuate its citizens”.
On the airlift of the next batch of Returnees Chairman of Airpeace, Chief Allen Onyema said this would depend on when the Nigerian High Commission in South Africa had completed all paper work relating to the airlift.
“The foreign affairs department has just informed me now that I should give them time to do about the people we have now and go back and make sure that the people that would be leaving are the right people not those coming for holidays”.
