Federal Government has warned Nigerians abroad intending to be repatriated into the country not to make any remittance to private accounts.
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, who made this known on Thursday evening during a briefing by the Presidential Task Force on coronavirus in Abuja warned Nigerians abroad to beware of fraudsters who might want to take advantage of their situation.
He said intending evacuees would pay flight fares directly to the accounts of airlines designated for the evacuation process.
The minister refuted reports that Nigerians in India were asked to pay their airfares to certain private accounts.
Onyeama, however, said passengers on the flight expected from the UK on Friday paid to an agency in London because the flight was arranged with the assistance of the British Government.
He said;
We directed every Embassy and Missions to invite Nigerians in those countries to indicate an interest, if they have any, to be evacuated back home and informing them that they will have to pay to the airline that is eventually chosen for the evacuation process.
Onyeama added that;
So, our High Commissioner in India is in the process of negotiating with the number of airlines and I will like to inform the members of the National Assembly who raised the issue that Nigerian airlines have been invited too.
So, they will select the airline and Nigerians interested will pay directly to the airline at the time indicated. Nigerians should not pay to any account. It will always be made to an airline.
The minister also explained that;
An exception was made to the flight coming in tomorrow (Friday) and that was because it was organised with other government. So, our High Commissioner in London had to outsource the collection of the monies to be paid to the airline because they wanted the High Commissioner himself to be responsible. That was an exception. But in all the other cases, people will be asked to pay directly to accounts of the airlines directly.
This warning comes after 265 Nigerians from Dubai were evacuated on Wednesday by the Federal Government.
The returnees arrived Lagos on Wednesday evening, aboard an Emirates Airline flight.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, all the returnees tested negative to COVID-19 before boarding the flight, but they are expected to be quarantined for 14 days in selected hotels to ascertain their coronavirus-free status.
