PUNCH NEWS
The evacuation of 2,400 students and other Nigerians trapped by the ongoing conflict in Sudan took off on a slow start on Wednesday as only 15 out of the 40 buses required for the exercise were provided.
Although the Federal Government hired 40 buses for the repatriation of the citizens from Khartoum and other cities to Egypt, only 10 buses were available as of Wednesday morning, while additional five buses were provided later in the day.
This was happening as the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama claimed the Federal Government had been charged $1.2m for the evacuation of Nigerian nationals out of Sudan.
He cited insecurity in Sudan for the high cost of evacuating Nigerians from Sudan.
One of the evacuated students, who spoke to The PUNCH, said, “Evacuated Nigerians are with the Rapid Support Forces. They will escort them to the border of Egypt.”
The government had said on Tuesday that the evacuation of about 5,500 Nigerians, including students stranded in Sudan would commence on Wednesday.
To expedite the repatriation, the government through the National Emergency Management Agency Tuesday released N150m for hiring the buses that would convey the citizens from Sudan to Cairo in Egypt…
