650 Nigerians benefited from voluntary return programme

The IOM programme assistant Ojoma Ali made this known while delivering a lecture at a workshop organized for training of journalists on migration communication.She said the programme is for Nigerians in the Diaspora who volunteered to return to Nigeria and start a new life.“IOM assisted them right from the country they are coming from to […]

The IOM programme assistant Ojoma Ali made this known while delivering a lecture at a workshop organized for training of journalists on migration communication.
She said the programme is for Nigerians in the Diaspora who volunteered to return to Nigeria and start a new life.
“IOM assisted them right from the country they are coming from to get necessary papers, travel plans and receiving them in Nigeria. These people also gets between 500 Euros to $7000 (N1.147m) grant which are usually received in kind,” Ali said.
She added that the IOM does the training in collaboration with the Small and Medium Scale Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) and helps in securing accommodation and places for businesses for a start up to avoid mismanagement of the fund.
IOM also monitored their businesses and release their fund in installments over a period of 12 months, helped in the registration of business name with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) as well as counseling among other things.
The fund, according to Ali, is given out based on the returnees’ situation and conditions. “Some came back with kids that needed to be sent to school and we also handled that. The basic thing is that all the assistance are rendered in kind and not cash,” she said.