ABUJA, Sept 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The federal government’s plan to evacuate Nigerians from South Africa ran into hitches as most of the citizens willing to return home had no valid travel documents.
The development compelled the Nigerian High Commission in Pretoria to cancel the exercise and fix a new date for it.
In a partnership with Air Peace Airline, the Nigerian government had slated Friday for the commencement of the evacuation of Nigerians who have been targets of xenophobic attacks in South Africa.
Allen Onyema, the chairman of Air Peace, said in a statement in Lagos that most of the potential returnees were yet to renew their documents.
Onyema said that the airline had placed its Boeing 777 aircraft on standby and was only awaiting the go-ahead from the government.
“The Air Peace flight to South Africa will take off from the Lagos Airport and also return to Lagos. As earlier stated, the take-off could be Sept 9 or September 10.
“This is because the Nigerians in South Africa have to obtain travel certificates because many of them do not have travel documents and their passports have expired. Air Peace has placed its aircraft, Boeing 777 for the flight since Sept 3, but the Nigerian High Commission needed time to register the Nigerians billed to travel.
“And, they are already doing that in Johannesburg and Pretoria.”
Meanwhile, Nigeria has played down the possibility of severing diplomatic relationship with South Africa over the xenophobic attacks of her citizens in that country.
Giving an update on the strained ties between the two countries due to the persistent xenophobic attacks on Nigerians and other Africans, the government said that none of her citizens was killed in the renewed violence against foreign nationals in South Africa. — NNN-AGENCIES