The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Godfrey Onyeama, has said that the first batch of the air-lifting of Nigerians from Ukraine would commence on Wednesday.

The minister stated that the evacuation, which was earlier slated for Monday, was rescheduled for Wednesday to give enough room for the ministry, the House of Representatives, and the Nigerian foreign missions in Ukraine, Poland, and Russia to complete the formalities of moving Nigerians from inside Ukraine to safe borders with neighbouring countries.

Onyeama made this known during a meeting with the Speaker of the House of Reps, Femi Gbajabiamila, at the Speaker’s office in Abuja on Monday.

This is just as the Speaker said the House of Reps would give every needed support to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to begin the evacuation of Nigerians from Ukraine.

Gbajabiamila, while commending the ministry for the steps taken so far to ensure the safety of Nigerians caught in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, the majority of who are students, however, stated that the country must find ways to quicken its response time to emergencies.

He noted that response mechanisms, including funds, airplanes and other equipment, must be on standby to respond to life-threatening situations such as the invasion of Ukraine by Russia and how they affected Nigerians.

“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,” the Speaker said.

He further disclosed that the measures the National Assembly would take include legislation to address such emergencies and supplementary appropriations among others.

Gbajabiamila recalled how the House was left with no choice but to pass a resolution last Thursday, mandating its Majority Leader, Alhassan Ado-Doguwa, and the Chairman, Committee on Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Buba, to work with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and proceed to Ukraine by the weekend to facilitate the air-lifting of students to Nigeria.

He added that the move was the last resort as members were bombarded with telephone calls by their constituents, coupled with the viral videos and pictures of Nigerians caught in the conflict, appealing to the Nigerian government to come to their aid urgently.

Onyeama, while giving the Speaker a situation report, reassured him that things were under control in Ukraine, as 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.

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He listed Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary and even Russia, among the countries to be used as exit points.

The minister, who said there were about 5,600 Nigerian students in Ukraine, added that there were also non-students, some of whom might not have been legally documented.

He informed Gbajabiamila that working closely with the governments of those countries, the ministry had secured their cooperation to grant access to Nigerians into their territories, preparatory for the evaluation.

Onyeama addressed reports that Africans, particularly Nigerians, were not allowed to leave Ukraine or granted access into the neighbouring countries, blaming the chaos at some of the borders on “panic” and the fact that so many people were rushing at the time on hearing the sound of bombs and artillery fire.

“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,” the minister added.

Onyeama also explained that the delay in evacuating Nigerians wasn’t because the government wasn’t ready or didn’t know what to do.

According to him, eighty to ninety percent of countries and people did not believe that Russia would indeed invade Ukraine.

“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,” Onyeama further stated.

The Star