The Federal Government on Tuesday, July 16, 2024, announced the repatriation of 190 Nigerians stranded in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The Zonal Director of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), North Central, Bashir Garga, disclosed this in a statement issued in Abuja.
According to Mr Garga, the returnees were received at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja at 5:57 am on Tuesday, July 16, 2024.
He added that the returnees were received by a combined team of government officials led by NEMA.
Documentation of returnees by FG
The returnees, the NEMA official said, have been profiled and documented by the relevant agencies and sensitised to behave with decorum and responsibility on their return to Nigeria.
Mr Garga said, “The Federal Government urges all Nigerians, wherever they may be, to act as exemplary ambassadors of their country by upholding the fundamental values of patriotism, rule of law, decency, and integrity.”
Lift of visa ban on Nigerians by UAE
This repatriation of stranded Nigerians in the UAE comes barely 24 hours after the Nigerian government announced a lift of the visa ban on Nigerians by the Arab country.
The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, on Monday, July 15, 2024, said that the Federal Government and the UAE authorities have reached an agreement vacating travel restrictions imposed on Nigerians with immediate effect.
The minister also noted that Nigerian passport holders can now travel to the UAE without hindrance.
