The Federal Government has indicated that Nigerians who are trapped in Ukraine will, from tomorrow (Wednesday), be air-lifted to a save haven.
The air-lifting, which was earlier planned for Monday (yesterday), was rescheduled so as to give the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the House of Representatives and the Nigerian foreign missions in Ukraine, Poland and Russia enough room to complete the formalities of moving Nigerian citizens from Ukraine to neighbouring countries.
The National Assembly assured that it would support the ministry to make the evacuation exercise a success.
During a meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffery Onyeama, on Monday, the Speaker of the House, Femi Gbajabiamila, lauded the ministry for the steps so far taken to ensure the safety of Nigerians.
Gbajabiamila stated that the country must find ways to quicken its response time to emergencies.
He exlplained that response mechanisms, including funds, aeroplanes and other equipment, must readily be on standby to respond to life-threatening situations such as the invasion of Ukraine by Russia.
Gbajabiamila said, “We must be in a state of readiness at all times. We should have our own planes and necessary funding to respond quickly to such emergencies.”
Onyeama reassured the speaker that the safety of Nigerians was under control in Ukraine, adding that the Federal Government had put necessary arrangements in place to ensure the safe return of Nigerians.
He disclosed that in the last few days, the ministry, in conjunction with the missions, had completed formalities for Nigerians to move to safe border points from where they would be transported in buses to the airports in neighbouring countries.
He listed the countries to be used as exit points to include Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary and Russia.
The minister, who said that there were about 5,600 Nigerian students in Ukraine, noted that some of the citizens, especially non-students, might not have been legally documented.
