‘We Didn’t Beg Buhari For One Million Immigrants’ — Canada Tells Nigerians To ‘Shine Your Eyes Well’

The Canadian High Commission in Nigeria has warned Nigerians to “shine their eyes” concerning reports that Canada is voraciously seeking millions of Nigerians to take up permanent residency in the North American country.

Newspaper and magazine publisher Dele Momodu had tweeted the link to a story by CBTV claiming Justin Trudeau, the Prime Minister of Canada, has pleaded with President Muhammadu Buhari to allow one million Nigerians enter Canada under a new Employment and Migration Programme designed for immigrants.

The report quoted Trudeau as saying “we can’t undermine or overlook the contribution of immigrants in Canada’s development especially our brothers and sisters from Nigeria”, and a spokesperson for the Canadian Labour Department, Shadrack Scott, as adding: “The programme’s website will be launched next week and all available jobs will be listed. Currently there are over 6 million vacancies and we are hoping that Buhari allows at least one million people from Nigeria.”

However, the Canadian High Commission has denied the report.

To Momodu’s tweet, it wrote: “This particular story is FALSE.  Nigerians are welcome to apply to immigrate to Canada.  For the real information on how to apply, go to http://www.cic.gc.ca.”

And on other online reports, it said: “If you’ve seen this link on your social media timeline, don’t fall for it.  This story is not true.  For REAL information about travelling to Canada, go to http://www.cic.gc.ca.

“Over 4,200 Nigerians were approved for permanent residency in Canada in 2017, which is almost double the number from the year prior.  Nigerians in Canada make important contributions to both countries.

“If you see a story online about moving to Canada that seems too good to be true – shine your eyes well-well o!!!”