Saudi Arabia has identified about 11,600 Nigerians reportedly stranded in the country, many due to the coronavirus disease, and is making plans to airlift
The Nigerian embassy official, who is privy to the development but asked not to be named as he was not authorised to speak to journalists, said the Saudi’s decision was contained in a letter addressed to the embassy a few weeks ago.
He said; “We are aware of this… In fact, they wanted to land last week, but they couldn’t because there was no arrangement to receive them. “The Saudi authorities officially stated that they will be taking charge of airlifting all Nigerians who came into the Kingdom for Umrah and or visit and got stranded here as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic,” the official said.
He, however, directed this newspaper to Nigeria’s foreign affairs ministry, saying the approval to communicate with the media would have to be conveyed in writing to the embassy by the ministry. In his response on Tuesday, the foreign affairs minister clarified that those on the list as identified by the Saudi authorities are not only those who had travelled to the country for spiritual or tourism purpose.
In a letter addressed to the Nigerian ambassador in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, a copy of which was shared with, the Association of Nigerian Students in Saudi Arabia, Imam University’s branch, noted that the institution’s department of scholarship has directed that they seek approval from the embassy to return home.
According to the source, the Saudi authorities have, however, not notified the embassy of any separate plan to take the students back to Nigeria.
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