Aidoghie Paulinus, Abuja
A total of 27 Nigerian ladies who had been stranded in Lebanon arrived in Abuja on Monday evening.
The arrival comes after the August 16 evacuation of 72 stranded Nigerian girls whose video went viral recently pleading with the government for urgent evacuation.
The spokesperson, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ferdinand Nwonye, disclosed the arrival in a statement made available to Daily Sun in Abuja.
Nwonye said that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had facilitated th return in conjunction with the Ministry of Aviation, Embassy of Nigeria in Beirut, the Lebanese Embassy in Nigeria and the Lebanese community in Nigeria.
The 27 returnees were received on arrival at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, by Nwonye on behalf of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama.
‘The Ministry of Foreign Affairs wishes to inform that 27 Nigerian girls stranded in Lebanon returned to Nigeria via charted flight and were received on arrival at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, by Ferdinand Nwonye, the Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on behalf of the Minister.
‘The returnees, who tested negative for COVID-19 before departure, according to the international travel protocol, were allowed to go to their various homes after necessary documentation in order to be reunited with their families,’ Nwonye said.
At the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Nwonye said the evacuation was a fulfilment of the Federal Government’s assurance that no Nigerian will be stranded in Lebanon.
He added that the government was not unaware of the unfortunate situation experienced by the ladies in Lebanon, which led to their evacuation.
In his remarks, the representative of Silver Wings Group in Nigeria, Mr Philip Webbe, said the Lebanese community and Embassy in Nigeria facilitated the return of the girls with the support of the Nigerian Government.
Webbe also said the evacuation was in fulfilment to their commitment that they would not leave any Nigerian girl stranded in Lebanon.
He disclosed that 20 out of the 27 girls on the flight were supported by a Lebanese businessman, Mr Fassai Khalid, with the return of the seven remaning girls facilitated by the Lebanese community in Nigeria.