Shine your eyes, Canada tells Nigerians, denies begging Buhari for one million migrants

The High Commission of Canada to Nigeria has denied a statement credited to country’s Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau asking Nigeria to allow one million Nigerians enter Canada.

The Commission said on Tuesday that online reports making round that PM Trudeau pleaded with President Muhammadu Buhari to allow one million Nigerians enter Canada under a new Employment and Migration Programme designed immigrants as part of plans to fill over six million job vacancies in the country is false.

The message posted on the Commission’s Twitter handle @CanHCNigeria reads: “If you’ve seen this link on your social media timeline, don’t fall for it. This story is not true.”

Recall that several news platforms had earlier reported that the Canadian PM was interested in having more Nigerians in its country because Nigeria immigrants have helped in Canada’s growth in all sectors of its economy.

Trudeau was quoted to have said: “We can’t undermine or overlook the contribution of immigrants in Canada’s development especially our brothers and sisters from Nigeria. We granted them and urging everyone to apply. It’s good we document everyone to know how many people we are to cater for.”

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Some other reports also quoted a spokesperson for the Canadian Labour Department, Shadrack Scott in a memo sent to the Nigeria High Commission in Canada, that the Employment and Migration Programme will allow Nigerians wishing to live in Canada to first obtain a job before travelling to the country.

“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,” Scott allegedly said.

However, in the High Commission of Canada to Nigeria’s statements on Tuesday, it warned: “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.”

The Commission added, “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.”