Federal gov’t ends evacuation of Nigerians from South Africa

The Nigeria Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari has ended the evacuation of Nigerians from South Africa.

Reports have it that over 500 Nigerians were evacuated from South Africa following xenophobic attacks on them and other Africans.

Speaking on Thursday, The Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman, Ferdinand Nwonye, told newsmen the violence that gave rise to the evacuation had abated.

According to him, normalcy had been restored in South Africa with Nigeria signing about 32 agreements, including a 10-year visa policy with Pretoria to advance bilateral relations.

“People can come back, but normalcy has been restored. What the Air Peace Airline did was on humanitarian grounds.

The issue of evacuation does not arise anymore because there is no situation warranting evacuation.

“Yes, there is none, all of us know that. There are some Nigerians that are not doing well and if we help them to return, that is on humanitarian grounds,” he said.

It was however gathered that about 600 Nigerians have registered for evacuation with the Nigerian High Commission in South Africa and are willing to return back to Nigeria.

Recalls that President Muhammadu Buhari had held a bilateral meeting with his South African counterpart, President Cyril Ramaphosa, to discuss the welfare of Nigerians in the country after the xenophobia attack.