Not fewer than 542 Nigerians stranded in the United Arab Emirates, UAE, have been evacuated home by the Federal Government arrived Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport Abuja on board Max Air chartered flight at about 4.29am on Sunday.
The returnees include 79 males, 460 females and 3 infants who were received by a joint team of the Federal Government led by the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, airport officials, security agencies, and other related government organisations.
On arrival, the returnees were screened by health officials, profiled by various relevant agencies and cleared by Nigerian Immigration Service before being given a token of transport fare by NEMA to leave the airport for their final destinations.
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While addressing the returnees, NEMA Director-General, Mustapha Ahmed who officially received them on behalf of the Federal Government advised them to learn from their experiences and be law abiding citizens that promote economic growth and positive image of Nigeria. Ahmed was represented by NEMA Director of Finance, Sani Jiba in company of the Consul-General of Nigeria in Dubai, Atinuke Mohammed.
The 460 female returnees who are between the age of 19-24 urged the Federal Government and other relevant agencies not to abandon them but to provide them with means of livelihood as they seek to restart their lives.
This is the first flight approval by the Federal Government to evacuate stranded Nigerians from UAE and India. The Nigerian returnees in India will be evacuated in coming days.
(Editor: Terverr Tyav)
