SUDAN: Why Evacuation Cost $1.2m — FG

EKO HOT BLOG reports that the Nigerian government has explained the reason behind the negotiated sum of $1.2 million for the buses hired to evacuate Nigerians from Sudan due to the ongoing crisis in the country.

The clarification was made in a joint statement issued on Saturday by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management, and Social Development.

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According to the statement signed by the Director overseeing the Office of the Permanent Secretary, MFA, Amb. Janet Olisa, and Permanent Secretary, FMHADMSD, Dr. Nasir Sani-Gwarzo, the amount was negotiated in a “condition of war” where there were competing demands for the same bus services by other countries also trying to evacuate their citizens.

The statement urged the general public to disregard unverified information being circulated on social media, adding that some of them are either due to ignorance or sheer mischief. It noted that cooperation and understanding of all and sundry are required to complement ongoing efforts aimed at ensuring the safe return of every Nigerian trapped in Sudan.

Meanwhile, Nigerian students stranded due to the ongoing crisis in Sudan have accused the Federal Government of abandoning them in Khartoum, the country’s capital. This is coming as the hopes of Nigerians stranded in Sudan returning to Nigeria on Friday were dashed amid the controversy surrounding their evacuation from the crisis-torn country.

The government had earlier released N150m for hiring 40 buses to convey its desperate citizens from Sudan to Cairo in Egypt. The money was said to have been paid to an undisclosed transport company on Tuesday at 12:37 pm by the Central Bank of Nigeria through the National Emergency Management Agency.

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It can be recalled that Sudan has been engulfed in a political crisis since a military coup led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan ousted Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok’s government in October 2021. The coup has been met with widespread protests and violence, leaving many Nigerians and other foreign nationals trapped in the country.