OPM Provides Free Housing, Welfare Support for Nigerians Returning from South Africa

The Founder and General Overseer of Omega Power Ministries (OPM), HRM King Apostle Chibuzor Gift Chinyere, has received another batch of Nigerians returning from South Africa following recent xenophobic attacks, as the church continues its resettlement programme for returnees in Port Harcourt.

Speaking with journalists on Friday, Chinyere said the latest arrivals had commenced documentation and would benefit from the ministry’s welfare scheme, which includes free accommodation, healthcare, education and other support services.

According to him, the returnees are being accommodated in an estate acquired by the ministry, where an earlier batch of evacuees had already been resettled. He added that more Nigerians are expected to arrive in the coming days.

As part of the programme, the ministry has also provided transportation for the beneficiaries by procuring a bus to convey their children to school and transport the families to church activities.

Chinyere said the intervention was conceived after discussions with a Nigerian resident in South Africa, who explained that many Nigerians affected by the attacks were reluctant to return home because they had established families, businesses and livelihoods there.

“Many of them have homes, marriages, children in school and businesses in South Africa. They have built their lives there and fear returning to Nigeria with nothing waiting for them,” he said.

He explained that the ministry acquired the estate through funds generated from tithes and offerings to provide accommodation for the returnees at no cost.

According to him, beneficiaries undergo medical screening and treatment at OPM’s free hospitals before being resettled, while their children are enrolled in the ministry’s free schools. He added that wives of the returnees are provided with financial support to establish small businesses as part of efforts to aid their reintegration.

Chinyere said the ministry initially prioritised women and children because they are often the most vulnerable during humanitarian crises.

“A man can survive under difficult conditions, but women and children are usually the most vulnerable,” he said.

He disclosed that the ministry also plans to introduce a skills acquisition programme for men who lost their businesses in South Africa. According to him, the training will be conducted through the OPM Multi-Skill Acquisition Centre and will be recognised by the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment.

The housing initiative forms part of OPM’s broader humanitarian interventions, which, according to the ministry, include free housing estates, schools, hospitals, a skills acquisition centre, a school for children with autism and Down syndrome, an all-girls technical college and scholarship programmes.

Chinyere said the intervention is funded through tithes, offerings and donations from individuals. He noted that the programme builds on previous humanitarian initiatives undertaken by the ministry, including support provided to the family of the late Deborah Samuel in 2022.

He appealed to the federal and state governments, as well as international organisations, to support the initiative, noting that the growing number of beneficiaries had made the programme increasingly capital intensive.

With a second batch of returnees now settled and additional arrivals expected, he said the ministry would continue to provide accommodation, healthcare, education and other welfare services to Nigerians returning from South Africa.