Buhari’s aide tells Nigerians facing deportation overseas to return home

The Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, Mrs Abike Dabiri-Erewa, has called on all Nigerian irregular migrants facing deportation in Germany and other countries to kindly return home.

Dabiri-Erewa made this statement on Friday while speaking with journalists in Abuja.

According to her, the call became imperative because most Nigerian migrants in those countries trying to seek asylum might be denied and eventually deported.

The presidential aide added that most of the seekers were likely to be denied asylum status because “Nigeria is not a war-torn country”.

She said, however, that if they chose to come back voluntarily, they could get into the reintegrated programmes which the German government organised for such people.

Her words, “If they return voluntarily, they will be given some amount of money by Germany to start a new life with entrepreneurship training that will be provided.

“But if they refused to come back voluntarily, they will be deported and there will not be anything for them and they may not have the chance of going back.”

“That is why it is advisable for them to return voluntarily because they can always apply and go back to the place.

“Germany has Ministry of Internal Affairs that has budget for returnees through which some services are provided for those categories of people,’’ she said.