IN line with the decision of the Northern States Governors Forum, the Niger State Government on Thursday repatriated 780 out of 794 Almajirai from its Quarantine Centre in Minna, to their states of origin.
The state also disclosed that the remaining 14 children at the centre include 12 foreigners from Benin and Niger Republics, while the other two could not really give the exact states or countries they came from.
The state Commissioner for Education, Hannatu Salihu, who made this known after a post-Exco briefing in Minna, said it would cost the state the sum of N86 million to transport them back to their states.
According to Salihu, a total of 794 Almajirai were brought from their instructors from the 25 local government areas of the state and quarantined at the Quarantine Centre in Minna, the state capital.
She said, “Under the first phase, we quarantined about 86 Almajirai, took adequate care of them and later returned them to their states. The second phase; we quarantined 708 Almajirai and returned them to their families. Out of them, 557 were from other states, while 139 were from Niger State.”
Salihu explained that arrangements were on to return the 12 foreign Almajirai at the centre, saying, “We are liaising with the Immigration Service on how we can return them back to their countries. The other two children could not really tell us where they came from as they kept going back and forth.”
On the issue of reopening of schools, the commissioner further pointed out that the state government was weighing the risks and putting in place post-COVID-19 school reopening plans.
