Nigeria’s planned repatriation of its citizens from South Africa has been postponed to Wednesday due to “unforeseen logistical considerations.”
In a terse statement to journalists, Kimiebi Ebienfa, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said the flight was initially scheduled for Monday but was later rescheduled.
Ebienfa did not provide further details.
It remains unclear whether the returnees will arrive in Abuja or Lagos, or how many people will make up the first batch.
Chronicle NG gathered that the repatriation flight will be operated by Air Peace.
Ebienfa also did not confirm the flight time when asked about Wednesday’s schedule.
A screening exercise for more than 1,000 Nigerian citizens in South Africa began last Thursday and was expected to conclude on Saturday.
The exercise formed part of preparations for their repatriation following a rise in xenophobic violence.
Nigeria’s high commission in Pretoria said it had “negotiated waivers with host authorities” to allow those with “immigration-related offences” to leave on the repatriation flights rather than face detention.
The move comes two weeks after Ghana repatriated nearly 300 citizens from South Africa in the first batch of almost 800 people who registered for repatriation.
Ebienfa noted that Nigeria submitted its list for clearance ahead of Ghana, but Ghana was prioritised.
