CBTV had reported that the Canadian PM had written to Buhari to allow at least one million Nigerians move to Canada under a new Employment and Migration Programme designed for immigrants.

However, the Canadian embassy took to its official Twitter account (﻿@CanHCNigeria﻿) on Tuesday, April 16, to dismiss the story as false.

"If you've seen this link on your social media timeline, don't fall for it. This story is not true," the commission posted with a screenshot of the story.

The commission further praised the important contributions of Nigerians in Canada, disclosing that over 4,200 Nigerians were approved for permanent residency in 2017.

"If you see a story online about moving to Canada that seems too good to be true - shine your eyes well-well o!!!" it added.

A screenshot of the Canadian embassy dismissing the story as false

Canada struggles with illegal Nigerian immigrants

Canada is a major attraction for a lot of Nigerians hoping to escape Nigeria's dire economic conditions with many heading to the North American country in the past two years.

Despite its acclaimed openness to Nigerians, the Canadian government is currently battling the scourge of illegal Nigerian immigrants who have flooded across its borders from the United States.

Canadian PM, Justin Trudeau, has faced constant criticisms from Conservatives about his government's handling of immigration [AFP] AFP

Between June 2017 and May 2018, Canadian authorities intercepted more than 7,600 Nigerian asylum seekers, with 81% of them having valid U.S. non-immigrant visas in their possession.

The trend of illegal border-crossers from Nigeria worried the Canadian government so much that two officials were sent to Lagos in 2018 to work directly with their counterparts in the U.S. visa office to collaborate on how to lower the number of migrants who eventually end up making asylum claims in Canada.

More recently, the Canadian government adopted a new stringent policy to deal with asylum seekers who illegally cross into the country from the U.S.