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The Federal Government has evacuated another 66 Nigerians from South Africa, bringing the number of citizens repatriated under the ongoing emergency evacuation programme to 324 following renewed xenophobic attacks in the country.
The returnees, who constituted the second batch of evacuees, arrived at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, at about 8:50 p.m. on Wednesday.
Their return follows the arrival of the first batch of 258 Nigerians who were flown home on June 11 aboard a chartered Air Peace flight after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu approved the evacuation of citizens willing to return from South Africa.
Confirming the development, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kimiebi Ebienfa, said 66 Nigerians were successfully repatriated in the second phase of the exercise.
The Head of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM) Lagos Office, Dipo Onabowale, disclosed that the flight was facilitated by ValueJet Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Kunle Soname, while officials of the Nigerian High Commission in South Africa accompanied the evacuees back to Nigeria.
Speaking on behalf of NiDCOM Chairman, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Onabowale commended President Tinubu for approving the evacuation and assured that challenges experienced during the first phase were being addressed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
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He said Foreign Affairs Minister Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu had reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to evacuating all registered Nigerians who wish to leave South Africa.
To support their reintegration, NiDCOM announced a series of assistance packages for the returnees. According to the commission, Imo State indigenes among the evacuees will receive ₦1 million each from Governor Hope Uzodimma.
In addition, MTN Nigeria provided free SIM cards and ₦50,000 worth of data, while ₦100,000 was credited into the bank account of each returnee. Founder of Harvesters International Christian Centre, Pastor Bolaji Idowu, also donated ₦100,000 to every evacuee.
The returnees expressed gratitude to President Tinubu for facilitating their safe return and thanked Soname, Acting Nigerian High Commissioner to South Africa Ambassador Temitope Ajayi, NiDCOM Chairman Abike Dabiri-Erewa, and other stakeholders who supported the operation.
Officials of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons, the Nigeria Immigration Service, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and other security agencies were present at the airport to receive and process the returnees.
