The Federal Government, in collaboration with International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS), has repatriated 150 stranded Nigerians from (Niamey) Niger Republic. Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Umar-Farouq, disclosed this while receiving the returnees at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport in Kano on Monday.
Umar-Farouq, represented by the Director of Humanitarian Affairs in the Ministry, Grema Ali, said the returnees arrived at the airport at about 3:45 p.m. The returnees were transported to Nigeria by SKY MALI Airlines, operated by the Ethiopian aviation industry.
She said the returnees were repatriated to Nigeria through a voluntary programme.
“The programme was meant for the distressed Nigerians who had left the country to search for greener pastures across European countries and Africa but could not afford to return when their journey became frustrated,” he said.
The returnees comprised 125 males,14 females, and 11 children. “The returnees are from different parts of Nigeria especially Yobe, Kaduna, Bauchi, Sokoto, Katsina, and Kano states, among others,” she said. She explained that the returnees would undergo a three-day training on achieving self-sustainability and would be provided with seed capital to enable them to engage in productive ventures to be self-reliant.
She advised the general public to avoid endangering their lives by traveling to seek greener pastures in other countries, adding that no country was better than their country of origin.
