The Edo State Government has called on the new Libya returnees to remain calm as efforts were being expedited to attend to their needs as the number of returnees soars.

Special Adviser to Governor Godwin Obaseki on Media and Communication Strategy, Mr Crusoe Osagie, made the call following complaints received from the returnees at their hotel facility in Benin City on Tuesday.

He said that “the number of the returnees is increasing weekly and with the latest Federal Government’s evacuation programme, we have a huge number to be cared for.”

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On the claim by some of the returnees that they didn’t get stipends from the Federal Government, Osagie explained that “there are two evacuation programmes. The first one is by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM). Returnees that are brought into the country by the IOM, receive one hundred (100) Euros, courtesy of the European Union, which is about forty-one thousand naira (N41,000). This set of returnees are brought into Nigeria through Lagos and are given their money in Lagos.

“The Federal Government evacuation programme is the second programme and brings in Nigerians through Port Harcourt and no money is given to the returnees. So, some of the returnees brought in by the federal government are having difficulty going home to their families. The Edo State government, though almost stampeded, is doing all within its power to assist in returning the affected people to their families through the payment of some allowance.”

He urged the returnees to remain calm as the state government is committed to their welfare and reintegration through various initiatives.