Richard Anyebe
The Chairperson of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) Abike Dabiri-Erewa on Thursday, said more Nigerian students will be evacuated from Sudan today.
Dabiri-Erewa disclosed this in an interview with Channels TV.
She said the students will arrive in Cairo, the Egyptian capital later in the evening.
“13 buses of about 60 people have already left. We are hoping that they would get into as one later this evening, but we are monitoring them. It is not a very pleasant situation, mission officials are waiting to receive them,” the NIDCOM boss said.
She said the government is vigilant to monitor the safe arrival of the students down to the country.
Many undocumented Nigerians, she lamented, are also seeking evacuation from the North African country.
“There is a little challenge. Three thousand five hundred students, yes. Nigerians there are now coming without any documentation,” Dabiri-Erewa added. “They now say they want to come back.”
But she admitted that there were little challenges with the logistics and the rising number of persons who have applied to be ferried to safety.
According to her, some of the transporters insist that they want to collect their cash before they even load the next set of buses.
“The mission is now being bombarded with people that never registered, that never showed presence, saying that they want to come.
“Everything is being done by the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs to ensure that is done. Perhaps, when we get all our data right, Sudan Republic is one of the areas where we have our largest diaspora population.”
The NIDCOM boss disclosed that President Muhammadu Buhari has approved funds for the continuation of the students’ education.
In other news, Kanyi Daily reported that two security guards and three Family Health International, FHI 360 humanitarian workers have been reportedly abducted by suspected members of the Islamic State of West African Province (ISWAP).
