Nigerians to be evacuated from South Africa will not bear the cost of their repatriation, Kimiebi Ebienfa, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has said.

Mr Ebienfa said this in a telephone interview with journalists on Saturday.

He said the ministry would deploy aircraft to bring them home.

According to him, the screening of Nigerians in South Africa who registered for evacuation will end on Saturday.

“The process, which commenced on June 4, is a joint exercise involving the Nigerian High Commission in Pretoria, the South African Department of International Relations and Cooperation, as well as the South African Police and immigration authorities.

“At the end of the screening, we will have a definite number of persons cleared for evacuation.

“Thereafter, we will finalise arrangements for the deployment of aircraft to bring them home,” he said.

Mr Ebienfa spoke against the backdrop of the federal government’s preparations to repatriate Nigerians from South Africa under a voluntary evacuation programme, following concerns over the safety of foreign nationals in the Southern African country and recent anti-immigrant protests held in parts of the country. 

(NAN)