Presidency Clears Air on UK Migration Deal

The Presidency has clarified that Nigeria is not obligated to accept foreign nationals under the newly signed migration agreement with the United Kingdom, dismissing widespread misinformation surrounding the deal.

In a statement issued on Saturday, presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga debunked claims that irregular migrants from other countries in the UK could be deported to Nigeria.

According to him, “nowhere in the 12-page Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) is Nigeria required to accept foreign nationals other than Nigerians.”

Tinubu’s media aide stated that the MoU signed by Nigeria’s Minister of Interior and the UK Secretary of State for the Home Department, establishes a framework “to facilitate a regulated and safe migration flow between the two countries and to encourage further bilateral cooperation in the fight against irregular migration and associated acts by citizens of each country, in accordance with their respective immigration and citizenship laws and extant international treaties, conventions, protocols, agreements, and charters.”

He stressed that under the agreement, “Nationals to be repatriated must have undergone multiple levels of identification and verification, and, where errors occur, they are returned to the requesting country at the requesting country’s cost.”

UK, Onanuga maintained, will ensure “the dignified return of their nationals who do not, or no longer, have the right to enter or remain in the territory of the other country,” and stressed that the returnees will be treated with “dignity and respect, with due regard to their human rights and fundamental freedoms.”

The presidential spokesman also outlined key provisions of the MoU, including that migrants returning to their home country “must carry their legally acquired personal belongings,” and that “every returnee will be given ample opportunity to make adequate arrangements for the transfer or disposal of his property in the territory of the requesting party, under the supervision of the mission of the requested party.”

Onanuga’s remarks come a day after another presidential aide, Temitope Ajayi, said the agreement with the UK government relates only to Nigerians who do not have legal status to live and remain in the UK.

It explained that the Nigerian government was not accepting foreigners, as the UK was not compelling Nigeria to take those who are not its citizens.

“For clarity, it is important to state that the agreement signed by the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, during the state visit of President Bola Tinubu on behalf of the government of Nigeria, and Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, on behalf of the UK government, only relates to Nigerians who do not have legal status to live and remain in the UK.

“Nigerian government is not taking back non-Nigerians. The UK government is not compelling Nigeria to take those who are not our citizens. This clarification becomes necessary because of those who have already revved up their misinformation machinery,” a statement signed by a presidential aide, Temitope Ajayi, partly read.

It further noted that the agreement guarantees that returnees who are citizens of Nigeria would be treated with dignity, rights retention under domestic law, and may re-enter in the future if they meet the applicable immigration requirements.

Quoting a social media post by the Ministry of Interior, the statement added, “It also provides detailed arrangements for the dignified return and reintegration of NIGERIANS who do not have the legal right to remain in the UK.

“This arrangement includes: the use of secured travel documentation, case-by-case identity verification, and safeguards for vulnerable individuals and potential victims of trafficking.

“This framework also sets out clear definitions, scope, and areas of cooperation, including information sharing, capacity building, training, and joint research on migration management and border security.”