The Federal Government has dismissed claims that South Africa has formally asked Nigeria to reimburse the country for expenses incurred in deporting and repatriating Nigerians and other migrants.
The clarification followed a statement by South Africa’s Department of Home Affairs that it had written to the governments of Nigeria, Malawi and Ethiopia seeking reimbursement for part of the R292.77 million spent on accommodating, transporting and repatriating deportees and voluntary returnees.
However, the Nigerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it had not received any official communication on the matter.
Speaking to Vanguard, the ministry’s spokesperson, Kimiebi Ebienfa, said the Federal Government was yet to receive any document requesting reimbursement from South Africa.
“It is not true, we have not received any document to that effect,” Ebienfa said.
He also disclosed that South Africa had not responded to Nigeria’s separate request for compensation over Nigerians who were allegedly forced to leave the country.
Nigeria’s Consul General in South Africa, Ninikanwa Okey-Uche, corroborated the position, stating that the Nigerian diplomatic mission in Pretoria had not received any reimbursement demand from the South African authorities.
The controversy followed comments by South Africa’s Home Affairs Director-General, Tommy Makhode, who told Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs that the department had spent about R292 million on deportation and repatriation operations.
Makhode said the expenditure was significantly higher than the R60 million budgeted for deportations in the current year, describing the additional cost as unexpected and unavoidable.
According to him, the department had approached the governments of Malawi, Nigeria and Ethiopia through the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) to seek reimbursement.
“We have also written to the governments of Malawi, and, of course, the embassies of Nigeria and Ethiopia to request for reimbursements of these costs through the Department of International Relations and Cooperation, DIRCO,” Makhode said.
He added that South Africa was awaiting responses from the affected countries.
Makhode explained that a significant portion of the expenditure was used to hire buses for transporting migrants, operate temporary repatriation centres and cover overtime payments for personnel involved in the exercise.
He further noted that some municipalities and other government agencies that supported the repatriation process were also seeking reimbursement from the Department of Home Affairs.
For now, however, the Nigerian government maintains that it has received no official document from South Africa requesting payment for the repatriation costs.
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