A total of 191 stranded Nigerians in India evacuated back home by the Federal Government have arrived at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport Abuja today Friday 16th December 2022.
The returnees were evacuated by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) on behalf of the Federal Government.
An Ethiopian Airlines charted flight that conveyed the returnees touched down at the Abuja airport at 4.40 pm as they were received by a reception team led by NEMA and other relevant agencies. After being profiled and screened, the returnees were given a token of a hundred US Dollars or equivalent for transportation to their various homes.
Addressing the returnees, the Honorable Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management, and Social Development Sadiya Umar Farouq welcome 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 to them by the Federal Government was meant to support their movement home.
In his remark, 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 of 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 appreciated 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.
