Another batch of 255 Nigerians stranded in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, has arrived at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja. This was disclosed by the Nigerians in the Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) via its official Twitter handle @nidcom_gov, adding that the returnees arrived via Saudi Air Flight SV3405 at about 1.00pm time Monday, 29th March. According to the commission, they will proceed on quarantine at the Federal Capital Territory Hajj Camp for 14 days in line with the reversed COVID-19 protocols by the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19. The Nigerian government has evacuated nearly 2,000 of its nationals from the Kingdom in the last three months even as more returnees are expected in subsequent days. In February, Nigerian government received a batch of 420 returnees from S...
The Senate is making moves to make it easier for Nigerians in diaspora to renew their passport documents. It specifically wants to make it possible for Nigerians to be able to renew the documents abroad via post. The lawmakers also want more centres where passports can be renewed abroad as well as the removal of ‘middlemen’ in the process. These are some of the resolutions the lawmakers took on Wednesday after they deliberated a motion on the “urgent need to remove the difficulty faced by Nigerians outside of the shores of Nigeria in renewing their Passport” sponsored by Matthew Urhoghide (PDP, Edo South). The move by the Senate comes at a time when Nigerians both within and outside Nigeria have decried difficulty in the process of obtaining a new travel passport as well as renewing one. A...
The Federal Government, has concluded plans to evacuate another set of 420 Nigerians from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. An official of the Crises Monitoring and Public Communications Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, disclosed the planned evacuation to newsmen in Abuja. The 420 Nigerians, the third batch to be returned to the country in a space of one week, are expected to arrive the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, at 10:30am today (Wednesday) from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Recall that 802 Nigerians were received between Wednesday and Friday last week from Saudi Arabia by the Federal Government. The deportees said to be illegal migrants, have been held in detention camps in Saudi Arabia while awaiting deportation to the country. “Kindly be informed that another batch of four h...
The Federal Government has opened talks with the Peoples Republic of China to have access to COVID-19 vaccines for the citizens, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, said on Tuesday. This is as both countries signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on establishment of inter-governmental committee to coordinate aspects of cooperation between both countries. The MOU was signed by Onyeama and the Chinese State Councillor and Minister of Foreign Affairs Minister Wang Yi in Abuja on Tuesday. The Chinese Foreign Minister is on a two-day working visit to Abuja. Briefing reporters after their bilateral meeting, Onyeama said at this point when countries were discovering vaccines and China being one of them, Nigeria was engaging the country in the area of access to the vaccine. “We have...
The National Security Adviser (NSA) to the President, retired Maj.-Gen. Babagana Monguno, says President Muhammadu Buhari is to announce a critical solution to the #EndSARS protest in a couple of hours. Monguno, who made this known at the end of the fourth National Security Council meeting, presided by the president in Abuja on Thursday said Buhari also directed all security agencies to always operate within the confine of legitimacy and legality. He said the president also urged the security agencies to always avoid anything that would aggravate the nation’s security challenges. He also stated that the president would soon come up with certain solutions to address the security challenges in the country, saying the president directed that government would also do all it could to arrive at ...
Another batch of 27 stranded Nigerian girls evacuated from Lebanon by the Federal Government and the Lebanese Government, as well as its community in Nigeria arrived at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja on Sunday. Receiving them, Ferdinand Nwonye, Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who represented the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, said the evacuation was in fulfillment of the Nigerian Government’s promise to ensure no Nigerian is left stranded in Lebanon. Newsmen report that there have been several pleas from Nigerians stranded in Lebanon for assistance to enable them to return home. Nwonye said the Nigerian Government was aware of the unfortunate situation they experienced in Lebanon, hence the collaboration to ensure their safe return to t...
The 44th Ordinary Meeting of the Mediation and Security Council of the Economic Community of West African States has called attention to the ongoing insurgency in Nigeria, Gambia and Guinea Bissau as well as the political crisis in Mali. The Council at its meeting in Niamey, Niger, on Friday, also focused on forthcoming presidential elections in Guinea, Cote d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Ghana, and Niger. The meeting was presided over by the Nigerien Minister of Foreign Affairs and Chair of the Mediation and Security Council, Kalla Ankourao. Ankourao recalled the challenges COVID-19 has brought upon the region coupled with the breakdown in democratic governance in Mali. He urged the ECOWAS body to take the necessary steps for the preparation and smooth conduct of the upcoming presidential electi...
Fifty female victims of trafficking and 19 other persons who were stranded in Lebanon have been evacuated to Nigeria. Geoffrey Onyeama, minister of foreign affairs, who made the announcement, said they arrived in the country on Sunday. He acknowledged the support of the Lebanese government and the Lebanese community in Nigeria in ensuring safe evacuation of the affected persons. “With the financial and logistic support of the Lebanese Government and Lebanese community in Nigeria, 50 trafficked Nigerian girls and 19 stranded Nigerians were successfully evacuated from #Lebanon and arrived Nigeria today,” he tweeted. “Profound gratitude to Ambassador Houssam Diad, Lebanese Ambassador in Nigeria and Ambassador Goni Zannabura, Nigerian Ambassador in Lebanon.” No further details were given on th...
The House of Representatives has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to direct the Federal Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Aviation to ensure that local airlines enjoy the right of first refusal, where Nigerians need to be evacuated. This was sequel to the unanimous adoption of a motion by Rep. Mohammed Bello (APC-Kano) and eight other lawmakers, at the plenary on Tuesday. While moving the motion, Bello said that the two ministries and the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID–19 had engaged foreign airlines to evacuate Nigerians stranded in Dubai, London and America, due to the COVID-19 currently ravaging the world. He listed the airlines to include Ethiopian Airlines, British Airways and Emirates. According to the lawmaker, the economic objective of Nigeria, under the 1999 Constitution, ...