The Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) has said that 170 Nigerians have returned from Dubai, the United Arab Emirates.
The Commission said in its official twitter handle that the evacuees arrived at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos on board the Fly Dubai airlines on Friday night.
It explained that the returnees were brought home in one of three free flights offered by the UAE government.
According to the Commission, the UAE government offered the gesture to Nigerians whose documentation expired since March 1 and were given till August 17 to leave the country.“All the evacuees tested negative to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and are now on a mandatory 14-day self-isolation as part of the guidelines stipulated by the Presidential Task Force,” it said.
It added that this batch of returnees would take the number of evacuees from the UAE to over 3,000.
Meanwhile, Nigerian is expected to receive medical and food supplies ordered by the Ruler of Dubai for Nigeria and Sudan.
Local media reports on Saturday said that Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum ordered 14 tonnes of medical supplies and 20 tonnes of food supplies to Nigeria and Sudan, quoting the Dubai Media Office as saying on Saturday.
According to the reports, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum has ordered “humanitarian aid flight to Sudan and Nigeria carrying 14 tonnes of medical supplies, 20 tonnes of food supplies”.
The reports added that the Nigerian government has not confirmed the reception of the supplies or the date it is expected in the country.
On August 11, the Nigerian government received 200 modern ventilators donated by the US government to support the country’s effort at combating the scourge of the pandemic.
GIK/APA