Sudan: More Returnees Processed In Egypt, Arriving Soon – FG
The Federal Government has disclosed that more evacuees are expected soon in the country, following the successful airlift and safe arrival of the first evacuees from Sudan.
In a brief post on Thursday, the Chairman/CEO of Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), Hon Abike Dabiri-Erewa, disclosed that officials of the Nigerian Embassy in Egypt and their Egyptian counterparts at the Egypt / Sudan border are processing more returnees.
According to the Commission, a 2nd batch of returnees are expected any moment from now.
n a quick evacuation update on Friday, NIDCOM published via Twitter that an Aircraft – B737-300 operated by Tarco Airline, has left Port Sudan International Airport.
The flight took off at 8:00 am local time, with 130 Nigerian nationals (Evacuees) 128 females and 2 males.
According to the Commission, the estimated time of arrival from Port Sudan (PZU) to Juba (JUB) is 2hrs 50 minutes.
There will be a stopover for one hour at Juba and the aircraft will then head to Abuja; the flight is supposed to last for about 3 hours 30 minutes.
In total, the evacuees will spend 7 hours 30mins to get home.
It is expected that the aircraft touches down in Abuja by 3 pm local time.
Giving further update on the evacuation of Nigerians from Sudan, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) stated on Friday that following the successful arrival of the first batch of stranded citizens, the Federal Government has prepositioned more aircrafts to airlift more Nigerian nationals from Aswan in Egypt and Port Sudan back home.
According to NEMA spokesman, Manzo Ezekiel, in a bid to augment the process, Max Air and Azman Airlines have been engaged, dispatched and arrived at Aswan, Egypt to airlift the remaining Nigerians that have been successfully transported to the Sudan-Egypt border and cleared by the authorities there.
In the same vein, a Sudan-based aviation company, Taco Aviation has been engaged for the airlift of Nigerians from the Airport in Port Sudan.
Additionally, in response to the basic humanitarian needs of the Nigerian citizens at the Egyptian border, NEMA says it has continued to provide food, water and other essential supplies to them while awaiting clearance into Egypt for onward airlift to Nigeria.
According to Mr Ezekiel, the food arrangement was made by NEMA and the Nigerian Embassy in Egypt.
He notes that by engaging other airlines, the evacuation operation will be accelerated.
In the statement, Director General of NEMA, Mustapha Habib Ahmed appreciated the approval granted by President Muhammadu Buhari to the agency to carry out the evacuation.
Equally, the DG appreciated the support given by the Honourable Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development Hajiya Sadiya Umar Farouq.
He enjoined all stakeholders to continue to work harmoniously with NEMA to ensure that this exercise is hitch-free and assured that the operation would be completed in the next few days.
