The Federal Government has said that all is set to begin the evacuation of about 2,000 Nigerians who have left Ukraine to neighbouring countries.
This was disclosed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama in meeting with Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, in Abuja, yesterday.
Onyema revealed that President Muhammadu Buhari has approved funds for the airlines to evacuate Nigerians.
He said the evacuation was suppose to begin yesterday but was rescheduled to enable the ministry and the Nigerian missions in Ukraine, Poland and Russia complete formalities of moving Nigerians from the troubled country to safe borders with neighbouring countries.
“Where we are now is the point of ascertaining the exact number we are dealing with and to agree on the location for the evaluation. We are thinking Bucharest; but all of this is being sorted out and we are constantly working to ensure that everything goes on very smoothly.
“I was in touch with our ambassador early enough and he assured us that there was no need for evacuation. The students even said there was no problem at all. Also, the Ukrainian government did not want people to leave, and especially because most of our people are students, who will not be able to go back to Ukraine again, should they leave”, he said.
He listed Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary, and even Russia, among the countries to be used as exit points.
