Mbah welcomes 112 Enugu South Africa Returnees, gives ₦77m financial support to 77 families ……Urges them not to be afraid to start life afresh

Enugu State Governor, Dr Peter Mbah, on Thursday, September 17,2026 ,welcome 112 indigenes who returned to the state from South Africa following renewed xenophobic attacks, giving ₦77 million financial support to 77 families and urging them not to be afraid to start their lives afresh.

The Governor who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Chidiebere Onyia, at a reception organised for the Returnees at the International Conference Centre, Enugu, said the financial support was designed as a seed fund to help the affected families rebuild their lives in the state.
He said the government was still profiling about 42 additional returnee families in collaboration with the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM).
According to the governor, the returnees may have lost businesses, possessions, investments, friendships and years of work as a result of the circumstances that forced them home.

He said the state’s responsibility therefore went beyond receiving them, stressing that government must help them rebuild.
“The question before us is not simply, ‘How do we receive our people back?’ The bigger question is: ‘How do we help them begin again?’
“That is why today’s reception must go beyond photographs and handshakes. It must mark the beginning of reintegration. It must mark the beginning of rebuilding,” he said.

Mbah explained that the ₦1 million given to each family was not compensation for what they might have lost in South Africa, but a deliberate demonstration of the state government’s solidarity.
“Let me stress the word seed. A seed is not the harvest. It is the beginning of the harvest,” he said.
The governor assured the returnees that his administration would continue to explore opportunities and programmes that could support their reintegration and economic recovery.

He urged them to bring home the skills, knowledge, entrepreneurial experience and networks they acquired abroad and deploy them in the development of Enugu.
“Do not discard what you learnt abroad. Bring it home. Bring the discipline. Bring the ideas. Bring the networks. Bring the entrepreneurial experiences. Bring the knowledge of markets and technologies.
“Bring the things that worked. And even bring the lessons from the things that did not work,” he said.

SSG, Prof Chidiebere Onyia encouraged the Returnees not to loose hope

The Governor said Enugu was undergoing significant transformation, with his administration expanding infrastructure, improving connectivity, strengthening healthcare, investing in education and human capital, and opening opportunities in agriculture, tourism, technology, enterprise and industry.

He said the government was deliberately creating an environment where residents could “live, work, invest, build businesses and raise families with greater confidence.”

The governor condemned the renewed hostility against black African migrants in parts of South Africa, noting that it had forced many Nigerians to reconsider their safety and return home.

Responding on behalf of the returnees, Chidimma Ogbonna expressed appreciation to Mbah for the warm reception and financial support. given to them.
“Your kindness gave hope and this opportunity. Thank you for welcoming us home and for believing in us,” she said.

Another returnee, Cosmas Okwor, said the governor’s gesture had made them feel accepted and hopeful about rebuilding their lives.
“We are hopeful again,” Okwor said.
The returnees also expressed joy over what they described as improved infrastructure and security in Enugu, saying the developments would support their resettlement.

In his speech, Chairman of the Enugu State Council of Traditional Rulers, HRH Igwe Samuel Ikechukwu Asadu, urged the Returnees to pick up the pieces of their lives and move forward.
“Put yourself in a position to win. New opportunities beckon,” Asadu said.

Speaking, a Catholic Priest, Rev Fr Alphonsus Chime, thanked God for bringing the Returnees safely home. He also thanked the federal and Enugu state government for their support. Telling a story of Joseph the Dreamer, Rev Fr Chime told the Returnees that they would be what God wants them to be. ” What you will do is comply with God. Don’t give in to negativity, relax, be law abiding. There is no place like home’, he said.

In her speech , the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Sustainable Development Goals, Onyinye Akubuilo-Okpalanma spoke on skills acquisition. She urged the Returnees to enrol at the Enugu SMEs Centre and other skills acquisition centres to acquire skills of their choices.

Akubuilo- Okpalanma, who is also SDG Focal person urged the Returnees to learn skills and put the skills in use, adding that ” Enugu state as at today is a fertile land ”

Earlier in her welcome address, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Diaspora, Olangwa Ezekwu, commended the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Amb. Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, and the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, led by Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, for their role in facilitating the safe return of Nigerians affected by the situation.
Ezekwu also thanked Governor Mbah for what she described as his fatherly support for the returnees.