3,500 Nigerians to be evacuated from Sudan today

The evacuation of 2,400 students and other Nigerians trapped by the ongoing conflict in Sudan took off on a slow start on Wednesday as only 15 out of the 40 buses required for the exercise were provided.

Although, the federal government hired 40 buses for the repatriation of the citizens from Khartoum and other cities to Egypt  but only 10 buses were available as of Wednesday morning, while additional five buses were provided later in the day.

This happened as the minister of foreign affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama claimed that the federal government had been  charged 1.2 million dollars  for the evacuation of Nigerian nationals out of Sudan.

He cited insecurity in Sudan for the high cost of evacuating Nigerians from Sudan.

On Tuesday, the government had said that the evacuation of about 5,500 Nigerians, including students stranded in Sudan would commence on Wednesday.

To expedite the repatriation, the government through the national emergency management agency Tuesday released 150 million naira for hiring the buses that would convey the citizens from Sudan to Cairo in Egypt.

In the meantime the chairman of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), Abike Dabiri-Erewa, says about 3,500 Nigerian students are to be evacuated from Sudan today.

She said this during an interview with newsmen  on Thursday.

According to her, the students will arrive in Cairo, Egypt later in the evening.

She however lamented that there are many undocumented Nigerians seeking evacuation from the North African country.

She admitted that there were little challenges with the logistics and the rising number of persons who have applied to be ferried to safety.

She also noted that the issue of the continuation of the student’s education would not be a problem, adding that President Muhammadu Buhari has approved funds for the purpose and the welfare of those affected.