Already, many Nigerians with genuine papers living and doing legitimate business in the southern African country have been deported for reasons ranging from the mundane to the incredulous.

The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Martin Uhuomoibhi, on Thursday said the Federal Government was aware of the situation and was using diplomatic channels to address the issue.

He said, “Nations respond in their own way to situations that confront them.

“We have very good bilateral relations with that country and we will do everything to keep it so.

“It is like business, there is always a risk in it. So, you take risks. We will normally not do anything that would hurt our diplomatic relations.”

The situation came to light after a Zambian national daily, The Nation in its December 15 issue, exposed the systematic assault on Nigerians in that country.

A front page article with the caption, Sata Deports Nigerians, quoted government sources – including immigration officials – as saying they were acting on orders from above.

According to the newspaper, the president started deporting Nigerians, some simply for failing to support the Patriotic Front (Sata’s political party) in the run-up to the September 20, 2011 presidential and general elections.

The newspaper said, “Among the first to be deported is the Winners Chapel Pastor, Victor Adenedi (Adeniyi), who has received a letter directly from immigration authorities to that effect.

“Others include the manager of a bank that advanced for President Rupiah Banda (sic) $1m he used to construct the Mpundu Trust Fund, which police spokesperson Elizabeth Kanjela, claimed to be under investigation.

“Apparently working on instructions from the president, the immigration department has asked the duo to leave the country with immediate effect without giving proper reasons.

“According to information obtained by Daily Nation, government has asked Pastor Adenedi to leave the country with immediate effect for unexplained reasons or risk the closure of his church in spite of the fact that the clergyman has all appropriate documents to support his stay in the country.

“The manager of the bank has been told that the bank should be left in the hands of a Zambian or face the risk of the bank’s closure.

“The source told Daily Nation that this is as a result of lack of cooperation between the bank MD and the Patriotic Front during the election campaign.

“The source said President Sata wants a Zambian national to manage the top office of the bank.

“A senior manager of the bank confirmed the report, saying it was true that their MD had been asked to leave the country despite having a valid work permit and permission to stay in Zambia.

“Yes, I can confirm to you that there is a letter that was written asking the MD to leave the country or risk the bank’s closure.”

The paper quoted the source as saying that the government needed to consult before embarking on decisions that might damage the country’s reputation.

The source was quoted as saying, “We are now going for a meeting to try and see what can be done. Maybe we can ask the government to provide a reason why they have decided to chase away our boss. We also don’t know but for them to state that they are likely to close the bank is unfair.”

The paper quoted members of Winners’ Chapel in the country as complaining about the ruling party’s attempt to interfere in the running of the church.

It said, “Winners’ Chapel members complained that their pastor had been in the country for some years now and wondered why Sata’s administration wants to deport him; the congregation expressed unhappiness and said the issues had something to do with senior Patriotic Front members, who wanted to impose a Bemba pastor.

‘Our pastor has helped many Zambians and so far we have about 20 youths, who are on scholarship in various educational institutions because he has refused to give in to their demand for a Bemba pastor to take over, he faces deportation.”

The paper said, “According to information obtained from the immigration department in Lusaka, the officers were just following orders from a higher authority.

“They said they were ordered to carry out instructions without fail. This was just an instruction that we had to carry out without asking questions.”

-Punch

Posted by admin on Dec 24 2011. Filed under Africa & World Politics, National Politics, Top Stories. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry