By Sade Williams
The Federal Government has appointed Med-View Airline, through National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to participate in the evacuation of 5,037 Nigerians facing social challenges of various degrees in Northern African country, Libya.
An agreement to that effect was signed at the NEMA headquarters in Abuja on December 29, 2017 between the two organisations to facilitate smooth airlifting of Nigerians out of the troubled zone. Med-View will be participating in the airlifting of 5,037 evacuees with another Nigerian carrier.
“This kind of responsibility is meant for Nigerian carriers, because it our responsibility and we have the capacity to carry out this operation. We have demonstrated the capacity that we can do it and we are honoured to have been appointed by the Federal Government through NEMA”, said Med-View’s Executive Director, Business Development and Commercial, Mr. Isiaq Na’Allah who participated in the signing of the agreement.
“It is a known fact that Med-View Airline has been in operations for the past 10 years. We do Hajj operations and we do it successfully and the record is there for everybody to see, that is a factor I think the government considered before we are assigned this national project. We will deliver professionally up to international standard and the government is not making any mistake for entrusting Nigerian carrier to this kind of project”, he added.
NEMA’s Director-General, Engr. Mustapha Maihaja; Fatima Bukar, a Senior Legal Officer to NEMA; Med-View’s Executive Director, Business Development and Commercials, Mr. Isiaq Na’Allah and Med-View Corporate Affairs Officer, Johnson Omole, participated in the signing of the agreement.
Recently, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari constituted a 17-man fact finding committee to aid the evacuation process of 5,037 Nigerians. The 17-man team is headed by Minister of Foreign Affairs Geoffrey Onyeama.
Members of the team includes 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; amongst others.
The Federal government has also established a Reception Centre in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, to be managed by the Zonal Coordinator of NEMA, to receive the 5, 037 returnees.
The Federal Government is also to work with the governors of the returnees’ states as the returnees, after profiling, identification and documentation, will be handed over to their state governors.