SUDAN CRISIS: ALL EMBASSY STAFF WILL NOT LEAVE UNTIL ALL NIGERIANS ARE EVACUATED TO SAFETY – NIGERIAN AMBASSADOR
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The Nigerian Ambassador to Sudan, Safiu Olaniyan has assured all Nigerians in Sudan that all Nigerian Embassy staff will stay put in Sudan until all Nigerians have been evacuated to safety, away from the crisis ridden country.
In a voicenote shared within Nigerian communities in Sudan, Ambassador Olaniyan said that “I want to assure that we are as vulnerable as you are and we are not going to leave until all of you have been moved to safety, and to Nigeria.”
He went on to implore Nigerians in Sudan, particularly the students not to take laws into their hands based on unfounded rumours. There have been allegations that the embassy staff have compromised on the evacuation exercise.
Olaniyan said further, “We have no food, like you; we have no light, like you, we have no water, like you. It’s not that we are living in a different world.
“This is war, it is not tourism. What you are experiencing is what we are also experiencing. I am assuring you that everything that needs to be done is being done. I am sure that within a very short time, the issues will be resolved.”
On Saturday, the second phase of evacuation of stranded Nigerians commenced. All stranded Nigerians, particularly students were able to get spaces on the provided buses.
Information available to Hotjist, revealed that the buses could not commence the journey on Saturday night, purportedly due to security reasons.
One of the evacuees, in said “We heard now that two different companies are being used for the (evacuation) exercise. One of the companies has said it cannot continue to stay and has asked the evacuees to disembark with their luggages. He said the money (fee charged) has not been deposited to their account in Egypt.”
Earlier during the weekend, the Federal Government assured the first set of Nigerians evacuated from Sudan who are currently stranded in Egypt’s border, as the authorities were demanding that everyone follow the normal visa protocols.
The Chairman, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, NIDCOM, Mrs. Abike Dabiri-Erewa made this known in a statement.
The statement quoted Mrs. Dabiri-Erewa as expressing concern over the plight of those affected.
The NIDCOM boss said nigerians are not being allowed to cross the border into Egypt since their arrival late Thursday evening.
She said the Nigerian mission in Egypt has been working tirelessly on this noting that Nigerians were among the over seven thousand foreign nationals stuck in Egyptian border, as the country was demanding visas of the foreigners before entry.
Mrs. Dabiri-Erewa appealed to the Egyptian authorities to be kind and allow the already traumatized travelers to transit to their final destinations in various countries in Africa.
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