08:10 18/06/2015
Abuja - The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), on
Monday, received the first batch of Nigerians in Yemen as Federal
Government commenced the evacuation of its citizens from the crisis
ridden country.
Muhammad Sani-Sidi, Director-General of NEMA, said
the exercise was in line with government’s directive to immediately
evacuate Nigerians stranded in Yemen.
The DG, represented by
Navy Captain Michael Igwe, Head of the Mission Control Centre at NEMA,
received the returnees at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport,
Abuja.
Igwe explained that the operation was ongoing as the
government, alongside its Embassy in Saudi Arabia, was working in
collaboration with the government of Saudi Arabia to ensure their safe
return.
"Yemen
is at war and the Federal Government directed that Nigerians stranded
in Yemen should be evacuated and there are about 58 Nigerians that are
stranded there.
"However, our Embassy in Saudi Arabia, which we are coordinating with, has been able to get three Nigerians out.
"They
have been waiting in Saudi Arabia but we were informed that the number
of days given by Saudi Government for the evacuees to transit though
Saudi Arabia has been exhausted.
"They have to quickly put them on
board the available aircraft to Nigeria while they are gathering the
majority of the evacuees and that is why the three Nigerians are here
now.
"They complained to us sometimes ago that the border with
Yemen was closed last week so they are finding it very difficult to
bring out the Nigerians.
"However,
they are assuring us that within the next one week, they would be able
to get as many Nigerians to Jeddah as possible."
Igwe said the
returnees had undergone the preliminary stages of their resettlement as
they have been tested by the ports health authorities and have been
profiled and registered in the data base.
Igwe said the Nigeria government would continue to assist them until they were fully settled in with proper means of livelihood.
Receiving
the returnees, the Liaison Officers from Kebbi, Kaduna, and Adamawa
States where the returnees hail from, said arrangements had been made
for them to reunite with their families.
Bitrus Shekowoagaza, the
Administrative Secretary, Kebbi State Liaison Office in Abuja, said
their identities would be verified to ensure that they were indigenes of
the state.
He explained that the security verification was of
essence so that they would be sure that they would not pose any form of
security threat to their communities.
The returnees expressed
their appreciation to the government for their intervention and bringing
them back home to be reunited with their families.
Speaking on their behalf, Celestine Nwerem explained that they went to Yemen in a bid to pursue their football careers.
Nwerem pleaded with government to assist them in pursuing their dreams in Nigeria.
"We are all professional footballers; this is where we look up to our future to help our families and friends.
"Since the war has brought us back, we would be happy about any assistance they can render to us.
"Secondly,
we are very happy to return safely because many have lost their lives
while the war is still going in Yemen," Nwerem said.
The returnee urged the government and relevant authorities to speed up the evacuation to avoid losing more of its citizens.
No comments:
Post a Comment