President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered the release of $8.5 million to the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development to enable the swift evacuation of Nigerians caught up in the Russia-Ukraine war.
The president gave this directive in an approved joint memo delivered to the Federal Executive Council (FEC) which is presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Wednesday,2nd March at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Disclosing the update to newsmen, Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Hajiya Sadiya Umar Farouk, alongside the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Zubairu Dada, revealed that the amount is to evacuate at least 500 Nigerians stranded as a result of the ongoing crisis.
The ambassador further revealed that the federal government has contracted Air Peace and Max Air airlines to provide three aircraft and run as many shifts as possible to facilitate the evacuation.
In another update, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Gabriel Aduda, disclosed that about 2,090 Nigerians will return to Nigeria from Ukraine on Thursday after finding their way to Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia. The Ambassador disclosed that chattered flights will depart on Wednesday, March 2, 2022, to pick up Nigerian evacuees back home.
He also pointed out that the first batch of evacuees is expected to arrive in Nigeria on Thursday, March 3, 2022.
Addressing newsmen, the ambassador declared: “The capacity and route of the airlines are as follows: Max Air to Romania 560 persons, Airpeace to Poland 364 persons and Air peace to Hungary 360 persons.”
Investors King recalls that the Speaker of The House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila in a statement released on Monday, 28th February, disclosed that evacuation of Nigerians caught up in the conflict will begin Wednesday, 2nd March.
It now appears that efforts to evacuate Nigerians caught up in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine are on the way and this is a commendable action from the Nigerian government. However, as expressed by the speaker in his earlier statement, there is a need to create a legislature that addresses emergencies like this in a swifter manner.
The crisis between Russia and Ukraine has existed for a while now but only escalated to war on Thursday, 24th February when Russia invaded Ukraine. However, it took the Nigerian government less than a week to begin preparation to extract Nigerians caught up in the conflict by virtue of their location.