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Mr Geoffrey Onyeama
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama
Some voluntary Nigerian returnees are expected to arrive Nigeria from the United Kingdom on Friday.
The returnees who are expected to land in the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos according to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, who made the announcement on Thursday at the Presidential Task Force Briefing on COVID-19 on Thursday, will undergo the compulsory 14 days isolation.
The Minister said the returnees will be taken to Abuja, the nation’s capital upon arrival in Nigeria for them to be isolated in a hotel.
He also explained why an Abuja hotel is the preferable option to isolate the returnees noting that the hotel rate is better compared to Lagos.
Onyeama said they would first be taken to Lagos and immediately ferried to Abuja where they would be isolated for 14 days over COVID-19.
He said that the best hotel had been secured for the returnees.
Onyeama expressed happiness that the Federal Government had been able to get the first batch of returnees who came in on Wednesday from the United Arab Emirate.
He said they had conducted themselves well, adding though, the conditions were difficult, the returnees need to pay the sacrifice and abide by all the protocols guiding their isolation
“We are hoping to have another flight coming in tomorrow from the UK. This batch will be going to Abuja. They will be landing in Lagos first and they will be ferried to Abuja”.
“The reason is that we have been very mindful of the cost to the passengers coming home and we want to minimize the burden on them. Appreciating that a lot of them have stayed outside the country than they needed to or wanted to are probably out of pocket”.
“We have tried to bargain as much as possible with the various hotels. Abuja offers us a better economy in terms of hotel rates,” Onyeama said.
He added that arrangements will be made for those meant to be in Lagos to return back to Lagos.
The Minister appreciated the passengers who were recently evacuated from Dubai to Lagos and commended them for cooperating and conducting themselves in an admirable manner.
“It’s a learning curve for all of us. So we are very happy that we have been able to get the first batch of Nigerians successfully back home.
“We will like to congratulate those passengers and thank them because really, they comported themselves admirably and went to the hotels they are meant to go to for isolation.
