By Adedapo Adesanya
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has confirmed plans to first evacuate about 2,600 Nigerians in the crisis-hit Sudan, a week since the unrest started.
The agency’s Director, Special Duties, Mr Onimode Bandele, speaking on Channels TV on Monday, said the Nigerian government would move citizens trapped in the North African country to Egypt, one of Sudan’s neighbours.
“The truth is nobody has been evacuated yet. I just spoke to the ambassador Olaniyan in Khartoum a few minutes ago,” he said during his appearance on Sunrise Daily this morning.
“It is true that there are plans to get buses to start moving tomorrow morning. And as I speak to you, the Director General of NEMA, Mustapha Habib, is already in Cairo because that is the window that we are looking at.”
According to him, the movement is to be perfected between the Nigerian embassy in Khartoum and NEMA.
He noted that over 5,000 Nigerians would be evacuated from the troubled North African country, which entered into crisis mode on April 15.
“Our projection was that most students and others who want to evacuate are about 5,000. But with my discussion with the ambassador this morning, the plan is for about 2,650-2,800 to move immediately, including families of embassy staff.
“As these plans continue, we’ll be able to update you with the actual figure and the exact time of departure from Khartoum to Cairo,” he said.
He disclosed that out of the number, 80 per cent of them are students, adding that some countries had only evacuated their diplomatic staff and not all of their citizens, as speculated online.
This is coming after Nigeria’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Mr Geoffrey Onyeama, put the number of Nigerians in Sudan at 5,500 on Sunday.
He disclosed that out of the number, 80 per cent of them are students, adding that some countries had only evacuated their diplomatic staff and not all of their citizens, as speculated online.
Mr Onyeama urged Nigerians in the crisis-torn country to stay where they were before the evacuation began.
“Essentially, where we are at the moment is trying to get authorisation from the Sudanese government to undertake this long convoy journey and for them to provide some security,” he added.
Modupe Gbadeyanka