Nigeria’s Ambassador to Switzerland, Baba Madugu, has said that only two Nigerians temporarily living in Switzerland have indicated that they desire to be evacuated to Nigeria amid the coronavirus pandemic ravaging the world.
Madugu disclosed this on Tuesday in a telephone interview with journalists.
The Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs recently directed all its missions abroad to compile lists of willing nationals who wished to return to Nigeria.
This was sequel to the request by Nigerians stranded abroad in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, according to the chairman/CEO of Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), Abike Dabiri-Erewa, who was quoted in a statement signed by the commission’s spokesman, Abdur-Rahman Balogun.
According to Mrs Dabiri-Erewa, the interested Nigerians are advised to inform the missions in the various countries they are in, who will then collate and coordinate with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
However, Madugu told newsmen that a female on internship in Zurich and a male, who had embarked on a brief visit to Geneva had contacted the embassy and expressed the willingness to be evacuated back home following the government’s lockdown order which has seen Swiss residents staying at home since March 16.
According to him, most Nigerians in the country are residents and do not fall under the category of those stranded in a foreign land.
“That explains their unwillingness to be evacuated home as they are not in need of such measure,” he said.
He also told newsmen that there had been no reported cases of Nigerians who had tested positive for the coronavirus in Switzerland.
The envoy appealed to the diaspora community to strictly adhere to the safety guidelines put in place by the Swiss authorities.
Switzerland has over 25,000 cases of coronavirus infections and about 1,000 deaths.
