The Federal Government has announced that it will evacuate stranded Nigerians from Ukraine from Wednesday.
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, made this known during an appearance before Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila, adding that the government has concluded plans to air-lift the first batch of Nigerians on Wednesday.
The Speaker said the House of Representatives would give every needed support to the Ministry to ensure successful evacuation of Nigerians stranded from Ukraine.
Gbajabiamila restated the position of the legislature when he invited the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Godfrey Onyeama, to his office in Abuja on Monday for a meeting on the plight of Nigerians caught in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
Onyeama said the evacuation earlier planned for Monday was rescheduled for Wednesday to enable the ministry, the House, and the Nigerian foreign missions in Ukraine, Poland, and Russia to complete the formalities of moving Nigerians from Ukraine to safe borders with neighboring countries.
Onyeama said 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 neighboring countries.
He listed Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary, and even Russia, among the countries to be used as exit points.
The Minister disclosed that 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 assured the Speaker that working closely with the governments of those countries had secured their cooperation with the ministry to grant access to Nigerians into their territories, preparatory for the evaluation.
