BEVERLY HILLS, August 03, (THEWILL) – The All Progressives Congress (APC) has backed President Muhammadu Buhari over his comments that illegal migrants from Nigeria were on their own.
THEWILL recalls that the President made the statement as he received German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, in Abuja, on Friday.
However, the opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party, described the president as insensitive for saying illegal Nigerian migrants are on their own.
Responding, the APC berated the PDP for “exploiting” the issue of illegal migration by criticising the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration.
Yekini Nabena, APC national publicity secretary, in a statement said: “The PDP in its typical insensitive and unguarded stance on matters affecting the country is exploiting an issue that borders to on the lives of Nigerians, mostly youths.
“It is a known fact that many Nigerian families have suffered grief as a result of deaths and other inhuman treatment that have befell relatives attempting migration to Europe and other parts of the world.
“Through support of international agreements and efforts towards curbing illegal migration, repatriation of stranded Nigerian migrants and addressing root causes encouraging illegal migration of Nigerians, the President Buhari administration has demonstrated the political will to check the scourge.”
Nabena said the federal government has already put in place several interventionist programmes to enable such persons start new and productive lives in the country.
He said with unemployment and poverty identified as the root causes of illegal migration, the Buhari administration was using certain initiatives to curb the trend.
He listed the initiatives as N-Power, Bank of Industry Youth Entrepreneurship Support, Central Bank of Nigeria support schemes, among others.
