…As First batch of evacuees from Ukraine arrive Nigeria today
…BMO commends Buhari-led administration over prompt response
By Abimbola Abatta
The Federal Government will spend $8.5million to airlift not less than 5,000 Nigerians stranded in the Ukraine-Russia war.
At the end of the virtual meeting of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) on Wednesday, the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of Nigeria, Zubairu Dada, alongside the Humanitarian Minister, Hajiya Sadiya Umar Farouk, disclosed that President Muhammadu Buhari approved $8.5 million for the evacuation.
Dada said the approval came after a joint memo presented to the Council by both the ministries of foreign affairs and Humanitarian affairs, disaster management and social development.
The Minister confirmed that the amount would be released immediately to facilitate the operations.
He noted that Air Peace and Max Air airlines were contracted to provide three aircraft and run as many shifts as possible for the evacuation.
On the approved sum, Dada said: “The ministry of humanitarian affairs wrote a memo to the president seeking for funding to enable us conduct this exercise.
“The memo was in the tune of $8.5 million which Mr. President has graciously approved. That provision entails arrangement to evacuate not less than 5,000 Nigerians .
“Whatever happens, you can rest assured we are going to run any number of shifts that it will be involved.
“Don’t forget, it will also involve taking care of those Nigerians that may decide not to come back.”
He went further to note that the approved amount 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 gambit of activities that are involved,” he added.
Commenting on students trapped in Ukrainian cities, the Minister 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.
“Don’t forget that even our missions in Ukraine has had to be evacuated. So if for any reason any Nigerian is left behind, we are very prayerful, we are hopeful that no harm shall come to them once, of course, they are in some shelters or whatever place they are hiding.
“Don’t forget we had also summoned both the Russian and Ukrainian ambassadors to our ministry, and we did emphasize the need for their troops to ensure that they do not do anything that will harm the lives of innocent citizens.
“We have seen video clips making the rounds about the alleged treatments that had been meted out to black people who were on queues and in buses and all that.
“All these we have brought to the attention of the ambassadors and we have expressed our displeasure at this development and demanded that they do something about this.”
Meanwhile, the permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Gabriel Aduda, disclosed in a press statement that the first batch of 2,090 Nigerians evacuated from countries bordering Ukraine will arrive the country today.
As of the time of filing this report, the record of evacuees received by Nigerian embassies includes 650 persons from Hungary, 350 from Poland, 940 from Romania and 150 from Slovakia.
Meanwhile, a group, Buhari Media Organisation (BMO), has lauded the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration for proactively attending to the situation of Nigerians in Ukraine.
According to the group, Buhari administration’s style of leadership has contributed immensely in restoring Nigeria as a respected member of the international community.
In a statement signed by its Chairman Niyi Akinsiju and Secretary Cassidy Madueke, the group hailed the Federal Government for taking swift measures to safeguard Nigerians from war-torn regions.
“The closest to it was how Buhari’s administration carried out similar evacuations for Nigerians in South Africa during the xenophobic attacks against Nigerians.
“In the present circumstance, the Federal Government has successfully engaged some neighbouring countries with Ukraine, namely Poland, Hungary and Romania for the purpose of receiving Nigerians into their countries.
“These diplomatic engagements by the Nigerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs have led to the countries waiving the requirement of national passports or visas and other protocols to enable Nigerians fleeing from war-torn Ukraine to have safe access to their countries.
“Additionally, the Buhari administration is providing transportation and finance for Nigerians in Ukraine to move to the three countries, while the Nigerian embassies in the neighbouring countries have provided information about contact phone numbers and addresses to enable Nigerian citizens to contact the embassies for consular assistance.
“Also, the plan by the Buhari administration to start the immediate evacuation of Nigerians with two local airlines, Air Peace and Max Air is laudable, and goes a long way to show the patriotism and commitment of the administration to the well-being of Nigerians at home and abroad.”
The first batch of Nigerian evacuees from Ukraine is expected to arrive in Nigeria on Thursday.
This was disclosed in a statement on Wednesday by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Gabriel Aduda.
According to the statement, chattered flights will begin picking up Nigerian evacuees back home from the neighbouring countries surrounding Ukraine on Wednesday.
“So far, we have the following records of evacuees received by Nigerian embassies at, Hungary (650 persons), Poland (350 persons), Romania (940 persons) and Slovakia (150 persons),” the statement read in part.
“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.”
Aduda assured Nigerians that the government is working round the clock to see that citizens are brought back home safely.
Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari has approved $8.5m dollars to the ministries of Foreign Affairs and Humanitarian, Disaster Management, and Social Development, towards the evacuation of over 5,000 (registered and unregistered) Nigerians stranded in Ukraine.