President Buhari orders repatriation of Nigerians stranded in Russia

Abuja – President Muhammadu Buhari has directed the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Chief Geoffrey Onyeama, and Minister of State, Aviation, Sen. Hadi Sirika, to commence the process of repatriating Nigerians stranded in Russia.

Malam Garba Shehu, the President’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, confirmed this development in a statement in Abuja on Monday.

Nigeria’s forward Ahmed Musa and teammates celebrate their victory at the end of the Russia 2018 World Cup Group D football match between Nigeria and Iceland at the Volgograd Arena in Volgograd on June 22, 2018. / AFP The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the affected Nigerians had travelled to Russia for the FIFA 2018 World Cup but got stranded after the competition.

The football fans got stranded in the country following the activities of some unscrupulous travel agents who cancelled their return tickets and abandoned them to their fate.

The presidential aide observed that already the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Minister of Aviation had in compliance with the President’s directive taken the necessary actions to bring the Nigerians back.

 According to Shehu, the Presidential directive is in line with the policy of the current administration to ensure the welfare of all Nigerians in every part of the world. It would be recalled that the Buhari administration had on several occasions ensured the repatriation of Nigerians from foreign countries like Libya.