Olaf Scholz, the German Chancellor, has explained why 14,000 Nigerians living in Germany face deportation.
Scholz attributed it to an increase in the number of Nigerians seeking asylum, with a large number of them lacking identification cards, adding that approximately 12,500 Nigerians were in a state of tolerance in Germany due to the Nigerian government’s reluctance to admit people without the necessary identity documents.
Scholz said this during a meeting with President Bola Tinubu in Abuja on Tuesday.
In his words:
“The current spike in Nigerians filing initial asylum claims in 2023 has sparked worries. Nearly 14,000 Nigerians might be deported, and the great majority of them do not have the necessary identification cards.
“We are prepared to collaborate in order to enhance migration.”
According to the German Chancellor, Germany would be happy to return any Nigerian national who had behaved well.
President Tinubu mentioned the possibility of collaboration in order to resolve the issue of deportation in his remarks.
He also stated that his administration was willing to allow people to return, particularly those who had been recognised as fellow citizens and had behaved well.
“Nigeria is prepared to welcome them back as long as they have behaved well, but only if they stand to gain something from it. Rather, we ought to cease providing the 640 million euros in development funding.
“If someone is a compatriot and has ‘behaved well, we are willing to accept them back. We’re prepared to collaborate in order to enhance migration,’’ Tinubu said.
cc: Vanguard Ng
