Federal government has recieved a total of 542 stranded Nigerians living in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), on Sunday.
The homeless returnees came back to Nigeria and were received by the officials of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).
The Consul General of Nigeria in Dubai, Ambassador Atinuke Mohammed, accompanied the returnees and commended the Federal Government for its special intervention in the safe evacuation of the citizens.
The Head, of the Press Unit, NEMA, Mr Manzo Ezekiel, confirmed the incident in a statement on Sunday in Abuja.
Ezekiel explained that the returnees arrived the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, on board Max Air Charted flight at 4:29 a.m.
He said that they were 79 males, 460 females and three infants stressing that the returnees were screened by health officials.
He further explained that they were profiled by various relevant agencies and cleared by the Nigerian Immigration Service, before being given a token to aid their transportation to their destinations.
According to him, the officials of NEMA, Airport officials, security agencies, National Commission for Refugees, and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI), NAPTIP, NIDCOM, NDLEA, Nigerian Correctional Service, Nigerian Customs Service, NCDC, Port Health Services, among others, were the federal government agencies that received the returnees on behalf of the federal government.
He stated that the Director-General, NEMA, Mr Mustapha Ahmed, had earlier officially received the returnees on behalf of the Federal Government, pleading to them to learn from their experiences and be law-abiding citizens in Nigeria.
According to Ahmed, who was represented by the Director of Finance and Account of the agency, Mr Sani Jiba, the Federal Government approved the evacuation and provision of the token to support their movement back to their various homes.
