(3 minutes read)
- Nigeria’s Federal Government will start evacuating its nationals who have fled Ukraine to neighbouring countries from today, according to Nigeria’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Geoffrey Onyeama
- President Muhammadu Buhari, he said, has approved funds for the airlines to evacuate Nigerians
- There are about 8000 Nigerians in Ukraine and over 5,000 of whom are students
- Close to 1000 Nigerians had already crossed to Romania from Ukraine.
Nigeria’s Federal Government will start evacuating its nationals who have fled Ukraine to neighbouring countries from today, according to Nigeria’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Geoffrey Onyeama. President Muhammadu Buhari, he said, has approved funds for the airlines to evacuate Nigerians.
There are about 8000 Nigerians in Ukraine. Over 5,000 of whom are students. Over 1000 Nigerians had already crossed to Romania from Ukraine. The other countries from where the evacuation of Nigerian nationals would take place are Poland, Hungary and Slovakia. Some of the Nigerians are living close to the Russian border. The Nigerian government has been in touch with Russian authorities to help them transit Russia to be evacuated to their home country. Nigeria may start deploying aircraft for evacuation from Wednesday onwards.
The minister made it clear that the evacuation of Nigerians who are stranded in the war region was not the sole responsibility of the government. He alluded that people who are stranded or parents of students should also take steps for getting them evacuated. It is still not clear as to who would bear the expenses of the air lifting of the stranded people.
