Oluseye Ojo, Ibadan
Oyo State Deputy Governor Rauf Olaniyan formally received 30 victims of xenophobic attacks in South Africa who are indigenes of the state, yesterday.
Olaniyan, who received the returnees on behalf of Governor Seyi Makinde, assured them of the state government’s assistance.
He said the assistance would not be monetary, ”but a proper profiling of the returnees will be done to know specific areas to assist them, thereafter, they would make their proposals.”
Olaniyan said that the state government would consider those that qualified for government jobs when the state was ready to recruit workers.
He enjoined the returnees to abstain from any criminal acts, but see their return to their home-state as an opportunity to excel.
Olaniyan said the current administration in the state was working hard to provide favourable atmosphere for everyone to prosper.
The deputy governor announced a donation of a token of N30,000 to each of the 30 returnees as transport allowance back to their respective towns and villages.
Earlier, the Director of Media, Nigerian Diaspora Commission, Mr Abdul-Raman Balogun, on behalf of the Chairman of the Commission, Mrs Abike Dabiri- Erewa, commended the state government for welcoming the returnees that were indigenes of the state.
Balogun said 30 out of the 317 returnees were from Oyo State and that the commission was partnering with other agencies so that the returnees would be re-orientated, integrated and be empowered.
He said that over 400 Nigerians still in South Africa had equally indicated intention to return home.