Nigeria’s acting high commissioner to South Africa, Alexander Ajayi, says the federal government will seek compensation for businesses and properties abandoned by Nigerians returning from South Africa under its voluntary evacuation program.
Ajayi disclosed this on Tuesday during an appearance on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief, as another batch of Nigerians was expected to arrive in Lagos aboard an evacuation flight organized by the federal government.
He said those being repatriated voluntarily opted to return home ahead of planned anti-immigrant protests, adding that the government had already begun documenting businesses and properties left behind by returnees.
“In terms of the businesses, just three days ago, the South African deputy minister of finance and I were together, and we were discussing this. I took up the discussion with her, and we have agreed that we are going to ask our people who are returning to begin to document what they are leaving behind, and that was the message yesterday before this set that is due to land in Lagos.
“I had asked them before they left yesterday to document very accurately those things they were leaving behind in terms of businesses, in terms of even cars, and movable and immovable properties. We can now take it up with the South African government. That is the next step we are going to take,” he said.
Ajayi said the evacuation exercise would not end with bringing Nigerians home, stressing that the federal government intended to pursue compensation for those who had invested in South Africa.
“So, this repatriation will not end with just taking people to Nigeria. We are going to systematically follow up on the information given to us, and I told them to be very accurate with what they are going to give because we are going to work with the South African government to get to the exact locations of all these businesses, shops, and properties and present them to the South African government for possible compensation because we will not allow the labor people have suffered to build over the years to just go down the drain or be taken over by people,” Ajayi said.
