Nigerian fans stranded in Russia have been given bail out by Lagos State governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, who paid for their return flights.
Nnamdi Odimegwu, a motivational speaker, who made the disclosure, said the governor assigned him to ensure the about 50 stranded Nigerians return back to the country safely.
According to him, 19 of the Nigerians are already on their way back to the country while 31 are awaiting scheduled to board their flight on Saturday evening.
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Fraudsters had tricked scores of Nigerians by selling them football World Cup fan passes to travel to Russia, leaving many stranded and penniless.
Some, who opened up to the media, said they used the official Fan IDs to come to Russia with the promise of finding work or even playing professional football themselves.
Others said they came to watch World Cup matches but got stranded when their return plane tickets were cancelled by bogus travel agencies that booked them.
“I had a pick up arrangement today at the airport in Moscow and had a rare privilege of meeting His excellency, the governor of Lagos state; the most populous and commercial Hub of Nigeria,” Odimegwu wrote on Instagram.
“I quickly introduced myself while I waited for my pick up arrangement to come out. We had a small chat and exchanged knowledge and wisdom while I waited.
“He bade me farewell as his pick up arrangement had arrived. After a few minutes, my pick up arrived as well so we set out to the car park.
“As soon as we came out of the airport, I saw a crowd of over 50 Nigerians who had been stranded at the airport for almost 10-15 days now. And in their middle was this same man, His excellency, Governor Ambode. As soon as he sighted me, he quickly called my attention to assist.
“It was a pathetic state and a lot of words both pleasant and unpleasant were being exchanged. Then his Excellency did something that amazed me. He showed solidarity and quickly pledged to send all 50 stranded Nigerians home and assigned me to oversee the transfers and procurement of new tickets to send them home.
“As I type this, 19 out of this 50 are already on air to Lagos Nigeria, the remaining 31 are leaving this evening. His excellency also fed them all as he gave them cash to eat while they waited for their tickets to fly home.”