NEMA receives 542 stranded Nigerians from UAE

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has received 542 stranded Nigerians from the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Mr. Manzo Ezekiel, Head of Press Unit, NEMA, confirmed this in a statement on Sunday in Abuja. According to him, the returnees arrived at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja on the Max Air Charterd flight at 4:29 a.m. He added that the returnees included 79 men, 460 women and three infants. He added that the returnees were vetted by health officials, profiled by various relevant agencies and cleared by the Nigerian Immigration Service, before being issued a token to facilitate transport to their destination by NEMA. Earlier, Mr. Mustapha Ahmed, Director General of NEMA, who officially received the returnees on behalf of the Federal Government, urged them to learn from their experiences and be law-abiding citizens. Ahmed, who was represented by the agency's director of finance and accounting, Mr. Sani Jiba, added that the federal government had approved the evacuation and the provision of the token to support their return to their various homes. The Consul General of Nigeria in Dubai, Amb. Atinuke Mohammed, who accompanied the returnees to the country, appreciated the federal government for the special intervention in the safe evacuation of the citizens. The returnees were received by officials from NEMA, airport officials, security agencies, National Commission for Refugees and Displaced Persons (NCFRMI), NAPTIP, NIDCOM, NDLEA, Nigerian Correctional Service, Nigerian Custom Service, NCDC, Port Health Services, among others.