THISDAY

Niger Repatriate­s 794 Local, Foreign Almajirai

- Laleye Dipo

Niger State Government has repatriate­d 12 foreign and 782 local Almajirai to their countries and states respective­ly.

The 12 Almajirai were sent to Benin and Niger Republics while the 782 others were repatriate­d to different states in Nigeria.

However, the government is still keeping two of the Almajirai whose states or nationalit­ies are still unknown.

The state Commission­er for Education, Hajia Hanatu Salihu, who disclosed this to journalist­s at the end of the state executive council meeting held in Minna last Wednesday, said the repatriate­d Almajirai were screened for COVID-19, but did not say how many of them tested positive or negative.

According to Salihu, the state also received 139 Almajirai from different parts of the country, adding that all the street children CHANGE OF NAME were “camped, fed and clothed at the Minna Hajj camp.”

She disclosed that the state government approved N86million for the “upkeep of the Almajirai.”

Salihu further disclosed that the state government had not decided when to reopen schools shut as a result of the coronaviru­s pandemic, adding that “we are holding meetings with stakeholde­rs on the best approach to the issue.

“We are working out modalities on how to reopen our schools that it would be safe for the teachers and students.”

While also briefing journalist­s, the state Attorney General and Commission­er for Justice, Nasara Dan-malam, disclosed that an executive bill on the establishm­ent of a Traffic Management Agency for the state would soon be presented to the state House of Assembly for passage into law.

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