The first batch of Nigerian evacuees from Ukraine on Friday morning arrived in Abuja.
This was made known in an update by the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) on its Twitter handle which was sighted by Africa Today News, New York.
The passengers, numbering about 450 from Romania, landed at the private jet terminal of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport by 7:10 am (WAT) via a Max Air flight on Friday. They are mostly students who fled Ukraine to Romania following Russia’s invasion of the Eastern European country.
They were received by government officials and are expected to undergo documentation after which they will head home and self-isolate in line with the COVID-19 protocols.
Africa Today News, New York had earlier reported that President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday approved the total sum of $8.5m dollars to the ministries of Foreign Affairs and Humanitarian, Disaster Management, and Social Development, towards the evacuation of over 5,000 (registered and unregistered) Nigerians stranded in Ukraine.
This decision was made known by the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Zubairu Dada.
Speaking to State house correspondents, the minister after the Federal Executive Council (FEC), Zubairu revealed that three aircraft would be dispatched to four countries.
According to him, the countries where the pickup flights would be headed include – Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, and Romania.
Two flights from Air Peace and one from Max Air are expected to carry out the evacuation exercise.
Mr Dada said all agencies are fully resourced to ensure that aircraft leave on Wednesday to begin the evacuation. They noted that the flights will embark on a number of shifts until the process is complete.
