President Buhari raises 17-man fact-finding mission for Libyan returnees
- The Nigerian president has set up a panel to travel to Libya on a fact-finding mission
- The panel will be expected to evacuate all Nigerians trapped in the country
- The team will also hold talks with the Libyan authorities in other to find ways to end the mass exodus of Nigerians to the country
A 17-man fact-finding mission to bring back Nigerians trapped in Libya has been set up by President Muhammadu Buhari.
The Nigerian team is also expected to open talks with Libyan authorities on how to stop the exodus of Nigerians to the Arab country.
The panel has 38 days to evacuate all Nigerians trapped in Libya, The Nation reports.
According to the news outlet, the team will leave for Tripoli immediately.
No fewer than 5,037 Nigerians have volunteered to return to the country but the number could rise, with the presence of the committee in Libya.
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The 17-man team is headed by minister of Foreign Affairs Geoffrey Onyeama.
Others members of the team are: Comptroller-General of Immigration Mohammed Babandede, NEMA Director- General Mustapha Maihaja, Senior Special Assistant to the President on the Diaspora Mrs. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons ( NAPTIP) Director-General Julie Okah-Donli, National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons, Hajiya Sadiya Umar Farouq, some diplomats and nine members of a sub-technical team.
“This is the first elaborate measure put in place by the Federal Government under the leadership of President Buhari. Hitherto, NEMA had been managing reception centres for IOM.
“To underscore his commitment, the President has directed that Monitoring and Evaluation desks be opened in his office and in Vice President Yemi Osinbajo’s office. So, there is no room for tardiness at all," a source in the presidency, who spoke in confidence, said:
Meanwhile, Legit.ng had reported that the Edo government on Friday commenced the payment of N20,000 monthly stipends to the four sets of Libya returnees in the state.
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Speaking at Idia College, in Benin, venue where the returnees converged to collect the stipends, Chairman of Edo Task force Against Human trafficking, Prof. Yinka Omorogbe, said the stipends would be paid for three months.
She said: "when the first set of returnees arrived the state, the governor promised to pay them monthly stipends. This is the first of the payment and it will be for three months."
Nigerians speak on slavery in Libya - on Legit.ng TV:
Source: Legit.ng
