The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) yesterday, has said the first batch of 2800 stranded Nigerians in Sudan is expected to arrive today.
This came on a day the management of Air Peace expressed its willingness to evacuate Nigerians stranded in the Horn of Africa country free of charge.
NEMA said the evacuation will be done via road from Khartoum to Cairo in Egypt.
Among those to be brought home are students, embassy staff and their families.
Director of Special Duties of NEMA, Dr. Onimode Bandele, who spoke on Channels, said nobody has been evacuated yet.
“I just spoke to Ambassador Olaniyan in Khartoum. There are plans to get buses to start movement tomorrow morning (today).
“Director General of NEMA, Mustapha Ahmed, is already in Cairo.
“So, as confirmed by the ambassador, it is guaranteed that movement by road will start tomorrow (today).”
On the numbers to be evacuated, he said: “They are about 5,000 but the plan is for about 2,650 to 2,800 to move immediately, including families of embassy staff.
“As plans continue, the figures will be updated and the exact time of departure from Khartoum to Cairo will also be communicated.”
Bandele said the number to be moved will depend on available buses.
“If you are evacuating in a situation of internal crisis as we have in Sudan, you have to be mindful of the number of buses in your convoy so you can easily manage it security-wise,” he said.
Also yesterday, the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), Abike Dabiri-Erewa, warned Nigerian students in Sudan against leaving their universities without authorisation.
She stressed that the Nigerian mission has informed the students about where the buses will pick them up from.
The Coalition of Northern Group (CNG) said everything must be done to ensure Nigerians are safely returned.
Its spokesperson, Abdul-Azeez Suleiman, said in a statement: “We urge more action by Nigeria, as the mother of Africa, in managing the conflict in Sudan and not to abandon a sister African nation to the machinations of evil foreign powers.”
