FG Confirms Successful Evacuation of All Stranded Nigerians in Khartoum Sudan
All stranded Nigerians in the crisis-ridden Sudanese capital, Khartoum have been successfully evacuated by the Federal Government. The Permanent Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Dr Sani Gwarzo, made this known while receiving the second batch of 130 evacuees at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja. The evacuees arrived at the Pilgrims Terminal of the airport on a TARCO Aircraft B373-300 from Port Sudan. Dr Gwarzo confirmed that no Nigerian was left in Khartoum, as all had been evacuated, and majority of them were expected to arrive in Nigeria within the next eight hours. He added that arrangements had been made to airlift the remaining 1,700 Nigerians in Sudan in the next few days. Director-General of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Mr Mustapha Ahmed, also confirmed that all Nigerians who needed evacuation had been evacuated to Port Sudan and Egypt waiting to be transported to Nigeria. Mrs Catherine Udoifa, Director of Migration Affairs at the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons, stated that the commission would provide psycho-social support to the returnees, with a team in place to provide support to students among them. The Permanent Secretary assured the public that the team would continue to prioritize the return of women, children, and the ailing ones among them until everyone was out, and reiterated that the N100,000 stipend given to the evacuees was a life-saving support. One of the returnees, Ms Sumaiya Yusuf, expressed appreciation to the federal government and all the agencies involved in their successful return, despite the challenges encountered during the evacuation.