A Nigerian lady who was offered for sale at $1,000 in Lebanon, Peace Busari, has refused to return to the country, the Chairman of Nigerian Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), Abike Dabiri-Erewa, has said.
The NiDCOM chairman, who spoke on Thursday during an interaction with the Lebanese Ambassador to Nigeria, Houssan Diab, said the woman turned down all entreaties to return to Nigeria.
She said the 31-year-old Busari said she had secured another job and would prefer staying back in Lebanon.
Not even the plea by the Oyo State government, her state, could make her change her mind as she insisted on staying back.
Dabiri-Erewa said: “As for the young Nigerian lady that we were able to save, who was advertised for $1,000, the Ambassador has told us that the culprit is actually a resident in Lebanon. However, the lady is still with the mission. In fact, she has got another job. But the reality is that she said she does not want to come back and she said she has found another job.
“I spoke to her myself on the phone and I told her that if she gets into any trouble, there will be nobody to call. But she said she does not want to come back, that she has found another job.
“Even the Secretary to the State Government (SSG) of Oyo State, where she is from, spoke to her. We just hope that Nigerians going to work in Lebanon will be properly treated and not treated as slaves.
“As the ambassador said, the issue of work permit will be properly looked into. Agents are there collecting and making money and not seeing to the welfare of these people who are going to work.”