The Speaker of the Edo State House of Assembly, Mr Justin Okonobo, has advised Edo indigenes, who recently returned from Libya to take advantage of the state’s economic empowerment programmes to rebuild their lives.

Mr Okonobo met with 85 of the returnees at the Edo State House of Assembly to get them registered in the state programme for unemployed youths.

He advised them to patiently rebuild their lives, taking advantages of the opportunities that currently exist in the state.
“I will speak to the Governor concerning this so that he can give you another chance to register so that you will also be in the databank. If you abandoned school to go to Libya, now that you are back, see what you can do to go back to school and finish because there is no more free lunch anywhere.”

The returnees who narrated their ordeal in Libya had appealed for assistance from the state government to help them resettle.

They also said many other Nigerians were still stranded in Libya and need help to get back home.

One of the returnees, Lucky Igue, said, “If there is no opportunity for us to work here, people that will go to Libya will be more than those that are in Libya. And Edo State people, Nigerians die in Libya every day.

“If we want to share what we passed through to you sir, you will shed tears for people who are still there and have not had the opportunity to be deported.”

Another returnee, Greg Armstrong, said “Even our brothers that we left behind, when we were leaving there, were crying. We are still praying that the God that brought us back will also bring them back.

“We don’t want any other Nigerian to suffer what we suffered there. So sir, now that we are back, many of us lost our properties, many of us lost our lives going there but now that we are back we need the help of the state government to get our lives back.”

Coordinator of the initiative for youth awareness and migration, immigration, development and integration, Mr Solomon Okoduwa, is advocating for training for agricultural skill for the returnees.

A total of 668 persons were deported from Libya in May out of which 441 persons are confirmed to be from Edo state.