The federal government has received another set of 148 Nigerians that were stranded in Niamey, Niger Republic at the Malam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA), in Kano State.
The returnees arrived aboard a SKY MALI Airlines B737-400 operated by Ethiopian Airlines with registration number UR-CQX at about 4pm.
Receiving the returnees, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said they were brought back under the care of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) from Niamey through a voluntary repatriation programme.
The coordinator of NEMA Kano Territorial Office, Dr Nuradeen Abdullahi, said the programme was meant for the distressed who had left the country to seek greener pastures in various European countries and could not afford to return when their journey became frustrated.
The returnees from Lagos, Kano, Katsina, Jigawa and Kaduna among other states, comprised of 94 males, 25 females and 29 children.
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He noted that the returnees would undergo a three-day training on how to achieve self-sustainability and provided with seed capital to enable them to engage in productive ventures to be self-reliant.
Abdullahi advised Nigerian youths to avoid endangering their lives by travelling to seek greener pastures in other countries.
Daily Trust reports that the agency, between February and April, received 548 stranded Nigerians from Niger Republic, Libya, Algeria and Chad.
