The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) has received the first batch of 100 Nigerians returning from South Africa as part of a humanitarian effort to assist stranded Nigerians in the country.
The returnees arrived at about 8:30 p.m. on Thursday from Johannesburg and were received at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.
The RCCG is funding air transportation for 500 Nigerian nationals who are being assisted to return home from South Africa.
The intervention was approved by the church’s General Overseer, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, following an appeal for assistance on behalf of Nigerians who needed to return to the country.
Speaking at the airport, the Chairman of the RCCG Task Force for the Reception of Nigerian Returnees from South Africa, Pastor Belemina Obunge, said the church was responsible for the cost of transporting the returnees by air from Johannesburg to Lagos.
He explained that government agencies would handle the reception of the returnees and their onward transportation to their various destinations.
Obunge added that more batches of Nigerians would be brought back as the required documentation and other processes were completed.
He commended the Nigerian diplomatic missions in South Africa for initiating and coordinating the collaboration with relevant stakeholders to facilitate the return of the Nigerians.
Addressing concerns about how beneficiaries were selected, Obunge stressed that the exercise was not limited to members of the RCCG.
He said the Nigerian High Commission in South Africa was working with the South African authorities, particularly the Ministry of Home Affairs, to profile and document Nigerians eligible to return.
According to him, only Nigerians who complete the required profiling and documentation process are being brought back under the arrangement.
Obunge also disclosed that the returnees came from different religious backgrounds, stressing that the humanitarian intervention was not based on religion.
“They are Muslims, Christians, all religions,” he said.
He further explained that the RCCG was working with relevant government agencies to ensure that the returnees were properly received and transported to their respective destinations.
According to him, members of the church’s task force were at the airport to welcome the returnees, offer prayers and encouragement, and ensure their orderly handover to the appropriate government authorities.
On the issue of support after their arrival in Nigeria, Obunge said some state governments had already started taking responsibility for their citizens.
He appealed to other state governments to welcome their returning citizens and provide the necessary assistance to help them settle back into society.
He said the states should consider measures that would support the effective reintegration of the returnees and help them rebuild their lives.
The Chairman of the RCCG Central Mission Board, Pastor Amos Emoron, who joined Obunge and other members of the church’s task force at the airport, also said the returnees were selected without discrimination based on religion, tribe or affiliation.
Officials of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI), and other relevant government agencies were present at the airport to receive the returnees.
The profiling and documentation of the returnees commenced after their arrival as part of the process for their onward movement to their respective destinations.
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