The fourth batch of 465 Nigerian returnees from Libya have arrived in Port Harcourt, Mr. Martins Ejike, South-South Zonal Coordinator, National Emergency Management Agency, has said.
Ejike, who received the returnees on Friday, told newsmen that the people arrived at Port Harcourt International Airport at about 12.25 a.m. on board Max Air.
Ejike said that the evacuation of Nigerians stranded in Lybia had been a huge success in spite of some challenges in Lybia during the negotiations for their return.
He said that the Federal Government had put every mechanism in place to fast-track the evacuation of the returnees.
The coordinator said that every process needed for the evacuation was taking place step by step.
He expressed joy over the response of states in picking up their indigenes at the evacuation centre after a complaint by NEMA of dissatisfaction over states not collecting their indigenes on time.
“I am happy that the last set of returnees at the centre were all taken back to their various states on January 15,” he said.
He said the agency would contact state governors for prompt evacuation of the returnees from the Port Harcourt centre.
Also, Mr. Muhammad Dahiru, the Public Relations Officer of Max Air, said that the evacuation of the returnees from Libya was hitch-free.
“Actually, we did not have any security challenges in Lybia.
“We landed in Lybia about 7.30 and spent only one hour and 30 minutes before we took off from there back to Nigeria,” Dahiru said.
He said that so far, 1,955 returnees had been brought back to Nigeria by Max Air out of 3,138 expected to be brought back to Nigeria through Max Air.
“I can assure you that we can bring all the returnees back to Nigeria within 48 hours if we are invited to come and carry them,’’ Dahiru said.
Osita John, one of the returnees, thanked the Federal Government for rescuing them and fulfilling its promise of bringing Nigerians home.
John described his experience in Lybia as horrible and unforgettable and advised Nigerian youths still nursing the idea of travelling out of the country illegally to drop it.
John called on Federal Government to continue with the evacuation to save many youths still in different prisons in Lybia.
“There is no place like home but I beg our leaders to make Nigeria a better place for us, the youth, to live,” he said.
The Federal Government has identified 5,000 Nigerians currently trapped in Libyan detention camps.
NAN
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