More than 700 Nigerians remain stranded in South Africa just three days before the June 30 deadline issued by anti-immigration groups, as bureaucratic delays continue to stall an evacuation approved by President Bola Tinubu.
Despite the President’s approval of funds for additional rescue flights, the money has yet to be released to the designated airline, Air Peace, leaving hundreds of Nigerians unable to leave the country as fears grow over escalating xenophobic violence.
Investigations by Saturday PUNCH revealed that while an initial evacuation flight successfully returned 258 Nigerians to the country, four additional rescue flights approved by the Federal Government have yet to commence because the funds have not reached the airline.
Officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM) and the Nigerian High Commission in South Africa, who spoke on condition of anonymity, attributed the delay to administrative bottlenecks in the disbursement of the approved funds.
According to the officials, Air Peace has declined to deploy aircraft for the remaining evacuation operations until payment is confirmed, effectively suspending efforts to bring home the stranded citizens.
The delay has heightened anxiety among Nigerians still in South Africa, where renewed anti-foreigner sentiment has intensified in recent weeks, raising concerns over their safety.
President of the Nigerian Citizens Association in South Africa, Rev. Frank Onyekwelu, said the situation had become increasingly dangerous, revealing that more than 20 Nigerians had reportedly lost their lives since the latest wave of xenophobic attacks began.
He added that many others had suffered physical assaults, been displaced from their homes or forced to abandon their businesses amid growing hostility toward foreign nationals.
With the June 30 deadline fast approaching, stranded Nigerians have appealed to the Federal Government to urgently resolve the funding impasse and complete the evacuation before the security situation deteriorates further.
