The Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), has announced that 300 more Nigerians who had been stranded in the United States have arrived in Abuja.
The NIDCOM said in its Twitter handle on Saturday that the the returnees arrived at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos at about 15:00pm via the Ethiopian Airlines.
The Commission noted that the evacuation is the fifth from the US since the Federal Government started flying Nigerians who were stranded as a result of the COVID-19 back home.
According to NIDCOM, all the evacuees tested negative to COVID-19 before boarding the flight and that they will also observe the mandatory 14-day self-isolation as mandated by the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19.
“So far, a total of 1,430 Nigerians have been flown back home,” it said.
Meanwhile, local media reports on Sunday said that the Nigerian government has spent over N169 million in transporting Nigerian returnees from overseas.
The reports quoted the National Coordinator, Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, Dr. Sani Aliyu, as saying that N22 billion was released for the effective handling of COVID-19 response in the country.
“At the moment, as far as I know, only N169 million was spent by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the evacuation of Nigerians, mainly on their accommodation.
“We haven’t spent much because of the need for prudence in the first place. We need to have clear evidence. A lot of the Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) of government are yet to do their quick procurement,” he said.
GIK/APA