Days after Russian forces launched an attack on Ukraine, escalating tension across Europe, the Federal government has announced that it will commence the evacuation of Nigerians who have fled the Eastern European nation on Wednesday.
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, who made this disclosure on Monday while speaking during an interview session with Channels Television, said President Muhammadu Buhari has given all the necessary approval.
The minister also confirmed that the government has secured the services of Air Peace airline and Max Air airline to help facilitate the passage of Nigerians who are willing to be evacuated. He also noted that the evacuation is expected to take place from neighbouring countries as Ukraine is still at war with Russia and a no-fly zone is effective across the country.
“Wednesday hopefully…Air Peace and Max Air,” Onyeama said when asked about the evacuation.
He further disclosed that there are about 8,000 Nigerians in Ukraine, 5,000 of whom are students.
Earlier, Onyeama while briefing the House of Representatives said the evacuation will take place in Romania, Poland, Budapest, Slovakia, as Nigerian Embassies in these countries have been recording high intakes since the crisis began.
According to him, Romania has the highest number of Nigerians, followed by Poland, who has 250 Nigerians, among others.
“We made Romania the hub and over a thousand Nigerians have crossed there. Poland has about 250, Budapest in Hungary has a similar number, Slovakia is rising rapidly. It is also around 200. There are some Nigerians in a place called Sumy close to the Russian border.
“I have been in touch with the ambassador. There are about 150 of them who are looking to cross into Russia and we have asked the ambassador in Russia to try and get a permit for them to transit to Russia and hopefully by Wednesday we will start deploying planes to start bringing the Nigerians,” the minister had said.
Also, on Monday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in a statement confirmed that camps have been set up in Ukraine’s neighbouring countries as more Nigerians have continued to flee for safety.
This was confirmed in a statement signed by the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Ambassador Gabriel Aduda.
The statement reads, “Also, officials at Budapest, Hungary have received and accommodated 74 Nigerians safely, where they are being documented for subsequent travel arrangements back to Nigeria.
“The camp is well organised with beds and beddings, food, heating, clothing, and medicals for evacuees.
“We assure Nigerians that all hands are on deck and arrangements are being put in place to effectively evacuate our citizens, in safety and dignity.”
