President Muhammadu Buhari
Garba Shehu, the presidential spokesman, disclosed this on Monday following reports of scores of Nigerians who traveled for the World Cup but were unable to leave, having discovered that they were swindled.
Shehu said the President has directed Geoffrey Onyeama, minister of foreign affairs and Hadi Sirika, minister of state for aviation, to commence the process of repatriating the Nigerians.
The directive, according to a statement issued by the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the President, Garba Shehu, is in line with the current administration’s policy to ensure the welfare of Nigerians in every part of the world.
Reports have it that some Nigerians who traveled to witness the 2018 World Cup in Russia are stranded and are unable to come back home due to some restraints. Some of the travelers fled into other countries from Russia in order obtain Schengen visa and also getting stranded in the process.
According to reports, the victims have only FAN IDs, which the Russian government issued as a visa substitute to foreigners traveling to attend the FIFA World Cup. This means they can’t use the document to get a job. With nowhere to go, they’re going about Russia looking for help.
