N1.6 Million Spent On Sudan Evacuation

EKO HOT BLOG reports that the Nigerian government has spent $1.2 million to evacuate at least 2,400 stranded citizens from Sudan.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, made the announcement on Wednesday after the Federal Executive Council meeting chaired by President Muhammadu Buhari.

The evacuation involved deploying 40 buses to provide security cover for the eight-hour journey from Luxol to Cairo and the eleven-hour trip from Aswan to Cairo, Egypt. The majority of the evacuees are students from the University of Khartoum.

The evacuation was necessary due to ongoing hostilities in Sudan between the army and paramilitaries. Although the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces agreed to a ceasefire at midnight on Monday, fighting resumed, and a hospital was reportedly shelled on Wednesday.

The evacuees were moved out of Khartoum and other troubled parts of Sudan on Wednesday after logistical challenges prevented an earlier evacuation planned for Tuesday.

The Chairperson of the Nigerians in the Diaspora Commission, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, confirmed that the new travel plans were finalized on Tuesday night.

Onyeama confirmed that no Nigerian lost their life in the conflict and that there were no talks about alternative plans for continued education for the evacuees.

The Nigerian government had previously announced plans to repatriate citizens stranded in Sudan due to the conflict.

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