By Mitchelle Uzorka; 09:03am
The President of Nigeria, 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.
This was disclosed by 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.
Zubairu 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. He also 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.
Meanwhile the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Gabriel Aduda, 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.
