A total of 191 stranded Nigerians in India evacuated back home by the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, have arrived Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport Abuja today, Friday 16th December 2022.
An Ethiopian Airline charted flight that conveyed the returnees touched down at the Abuja airport as they were received by a reception team led by NEMA and other relevant agencies. After being profiled and screened, the returnees were each given a token of $100 (N72,000) for transportation to their various homes.
Addressing the returnees, Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Umar Farouq welcomed them on behalf of the federal government. The Minister who was represented by a Deputy Director in the Ministry, Dr Suleiman Abubakar admonished them to be law abiding. She said the token provided them by the federal government was meant to support their movement home.
In his remarks, Director-General NEMA, Mustapha Habib Ahmed advised the returnees to learn from their experiences and be law abiding citizens.
The NEMA boss who was represented by the Deputy Director Search and Rescue, Ishaya Isa chonoko, said the federal government had approved the evacuation to ease the suffering of Nigerians stranded abroad, to bring them back home safely.
The returnees expressed their appreciation to the Federal Government for the special intervention in their safe evacuation back home.
Among officials that received the returnees were staff of airport agencies, military, Nigerian Police, Nigerian Immigration Service, National Commission for Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI), NAPTIP, Nigerian Diaspora Commission, NDLEA, Nigerian Correctional Service, Nigerian Customs service, Port Health Services, NCDC and others.
