President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the sum of $8.5 million to facilitate the immediate evacuation of at least 5,000 Nigerians fleeing from the Russia-Ukraine war to Poland, Romania, Hungary and Slovakia.
The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of Nigeria, Zubairu Dada, who briefed newsmen alongside the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Hajiya Sadiya Umar Farouk, said the approval came following a joint memo presented by both ministries at the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.
Dada disclosed that Air Peace and Max Air airlines have been contracted to provide three aircraft and run as many shifts as possible to facilitate the evacuation of the fleeing nationals.
Dada named those to be evacuated from the crisis area to include 940 from Romania, 150 from Slovakia and 350 from Poland who have registered for evacuation.
Speaking on the amount approved, Dada said: “The ministry of humanitarian affairs wrote a memo to the president seeking funding to enable us to conduct this exercise. The memo was to the tune of $8.5 million, which Mr. President has graciously approved. That provision entails an arrangement to evacuate no less than 5,000 Nigerians.
“Whatever happens you can be rest assured we are going to run any number of shifts that it will involve. Don’t forget, it will also involve taking care of those Nigerians that may decide not to come back. It also includes some assistance for the feeding that may have been done by the missions under whatever arrangements. Even the missions themselves are also in dire situations. So, it’s a whole gamut of activities that are involved.”
On students trapped in Ukrainian cities now in the hands of Russians, Dada said: “We want to believe the Russian armed forces will obey the rules of engagement. They know the rules about civilians that are caught up in situations such as this. We want to assume they will respect international laws and ensure that no harm comes to them.”
About 2,090 Nigerians will return home to Nigeria from Ukraine today after finding their way to Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia.
The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Gabriel Aduda, who disclosed this yesterday in Abuja, said: “We can confirm that Chartered flights departed yesterday, March 2, 2022, to pick up Nigerian evacuees back home.”
He noted that the first batch of evacuees is expected to arrive in Nigeria today, Thursday, March 3, 2022.
According to him, the capacity and route of the airlines are as follows: Max Air to Romania 560 persons, Air Peace to Poland 364 persons and Air Peace to Hungary 360 persons.
