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Despite high cost, Nigerians flock to Canada as permanent residency approvals reach 15-month high

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A report by the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) of Canada has revealed that despite the expensive cost of processing travel documents and flight tickets, more Nigerians are paying millions of naira to be allowed to live and work in Canada for up to five years.

According to the report, between January and June 2023, there were over 1,700 Nigerians seeking asylum in Canada, with the number of approvals of permanent residency reaching a 15-month high, while thousands of others were pending.

The IRB report said the “number of Nigerians with Permanent Residency (PR) status in Canada surged as of May 2024, as over 2,020 Nigerians now call Canada home.”

“Recent monthly figures retrieved from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) have revealed that this is the largest number of Nigerians Canada has allowed in as PRs at the same time since March 2023, and the number continues to rise,” the IRB said.

“Last month, it was reported that 1,905 Nigerians are permanently residing in Canada as of April, and in the first five months of 2024 alone, there have been over three thousand more people admitted than in the whole year of 2017 and preceding years.”

A PR status grants individuals who are not Canadian citizens the right to live and work in the country for up to five years and serves as an immigration visa, qualifying the holder for most social and healthcare coverage that Canadian citizens are entitled to, including protection under Canadian law.

“Permanent residents can also apply for Canadian citizenship after physically living in Canada for at least 1,095 days or three years within the five years of their status validity.

“As a leader in migrant resettlement globally, Canada has an immigration policy that attracts more talent into its territories. The government is pursuing an ambitious plan to accommodate 500,000 immigrants every year by 2025, as it battles an ageing population and low birth rate which have created gaps in its labour force.

“Canada’s immigration framework prioritises professionals and highly skilled individuals, making it easier for them to obtain work permits and permanent residency, including post-graduation work permits (PGWPs) after completing studies in Canada and the Express Entry system that uses a skill-based point system to grant permanent residency.

“This approach contrasts sharply with other countries, particularly the UK, where restrictive immigration policies pose significant challenges for Nigerians and other international talent.

“With its Home Child Care Provider Pilot and Home Support Worker Pilot programs now expired, Canada launched newer, fast-tracked care pilot programs, with Nigeria as part of its target population. The programs grant professional care workers permanent residency status upon arrival.

“Nigerians who make permanent residency in Canada are usually motivated by job opportunities, refugee protection or student transition programs.

“Of its entire international student population, Nigerians were the fastest-growing, with nearly 18,000 Canadian study permits issued between January to June 2023 and 44 per cent more study permits issued during that period than in full-year 2022.

“The country’s acceptance of refugees as PRs also makes it attractive to Nigerians who flee persecution at home. When refugees resettle in Canada from overseas, they become PRs through the Government-Assisted Refugee Program or the Private Sponsorship of Refugees Program.”

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Zambia: APP leader lampoons PF over pledge to reverse forfeited properties

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Leader of one of Zambia’s opposition parties, Advocates for People’s Prosperity (APP), Mwenye Musenge, has criticised the Patriotic Front (PF) over its promise to reverse forfeited properties if the party won the 2026 presidential election.

Musenge, who was reacting to a statement credited to the PF Member of Parliament (MP) for Lukashya Province, George Chisanga, described the PF’s promise as a betrayal, saying the declaration had exposed the party’s disregard for accountability and justice.

The APP leader, who spoke to Zambia Monitor in a telephone interview from Kitwe, expressed shock that Chisanga, a former Law Association of Zambia president, would endorse what he termed a “regressive agenda,” accusing the PF of prioritising the protection of corrupt individuals over the welfare of citizens.

“This declaration reveals the PF’s true intentions, returning to power not to serve Zambians, but to shield their corrupt network and restore stolen assets,” Musenge said.

He alleged that former President Edgar Lungu’s consistent calls to protect his family, who he claimed cannot explain their amassed wealth, further demonstrate the party’s self-serving mission.

Musenge further described the PF as “a political carcass animated by greed and nostalgia for its days of unchecked looting,” and accused its leaders of leaving Zambia impoverished while enriching themselves.

“Allowing them near power again would be akin to handing a butcher’s knife to a thief already drenched in the blood of the nation’s resources.

“The PF represents everything wrong with Zambian politics—a relic of the past clinging to survival through recycled lies and corrupt agendas,” he added.

Musenge went on to call for the party to be permanently eradicated, saying it had no vision, morality, or credibility to serve Zambians.

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Nigerian Senate confirms influx of terrorists from Mali, Burkina Faso into the country 

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The Nigerian Senate has raised the alarm over the influx of terrorists from Mali and Burkina Faso who operate in the name of Lakurawa, into Kebbi, Sokoto, Kaduna and Niger States in the northern parts of the country.

The Upper Chamber, which raised the alarm during plenary on Wednesday, called on the military to set up early warning mechanisms to forestall further incursions by terrorist groups as well as maintain presence and vigilance in the affected communities to halt the activities of the terror group from spreading further across the region.

The resolutions of the Senate were sequel to a motion titled, “Urgent need for the federal government to take stringent measures to stop the infiltration of a group of violent terrorists, known as Lakurawa, from entrenching themselves in some northwest states of Sokoto and Kebbi,” and was sponsored by the senator representing Kebbi North, Senator Yahaya Abdullahi, and co- sponsored by Senators Adamu Aliero, from Kebbi Central, and Garba Musa Maidoki, representing Kebbi South.

While presenting the motion, Senator Abdullahi said:

“The Senate is aware that a group of terrorists from neighbouring Burkina Faso and Mali, known as Lakurawa, has infiltrated the country through the Nigeria-Niger border, at Illela, Tangaza and Silame Local Government Areas of Sokoto and are from there, attacking communities in Augie and Arewa LGAs in Kebbi State.

“Recall that this violent gang of terrorists had raided and dispossessed these communities, prior to the large-scale invasion of Mera, a village in Augie Local Government, on November 8, 2024, killing more than 20 people and fleeing with their livestock, amounting to hundreds of millions of naira.

“Senate is aware that Kebbi State government promptly responded by sending a delegation with relief materials to the affected villages and assistance to the families of the deceased.

“Aware that Senator Yahaya A. Abdullahi (Kebbi North) and Senator Adamu Aliero (Kebbi North Central) and Senator Garba Musa Maidoki (Kebbi South), along with some members of the House of Representatives from Kebbi State, have been to those areas, to commiserate with victims of the attacks on behalf of the National Assembly.

“Aware that if timely, adequate and decisive measures are not taken, this group can spread its reign of terror to other northern parts of the country and beyond.

“Notes the prompt response of the ministry of defence and the armed forces who despatched a well-armed military response squad that was able to dislodge the terrorists and secured the release of herds of cattle and other livestock stolen by the terrorists. These foreigners have invaded the country.

“We need to nip the situation in the bud, they have international connections, heavily armed with very dangerous weapons, the federal government should take the matter very seriously.

‘These terrorists are well armed with highly sophisticated weapons, this is a very serious matter on national security, they control the whole of Northern Mali and now attacking Kebbi, Sokoto, Kaduna, Niger, and others. The time to act is now, we have to take action on how to tame terrorism.”

He said the Senate should revisit past resolutions on terrorism and send them to the Presidency for immediate action.

”I want us to recall what happened in the 8th and 9th Senates. We discussed extensively how we can stem the tide of banditry and terrorism. We made far-reaching recommendations, and we asked the Executive arm of government to implement those resolutions.

“It is still relevant for us to insist that those resolutions should be implemented, if we do so, it will reduce the incidences of banditry and insurgency in the country. We can reduce it to the barest minimum.”

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