*As hired transport company halt in middle of the desert, insist on no pay, no work
The first set of Nigerian evacuees from war-ravaged Sudan are expected to be airlifted back home to Nigeria on Friday, the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM) said on Thursday.
Chairperson of NiDCOM, Mrs Abike Dabiri-Erewa, disclosed this to journalists in Aso Rock Villa, Abuja.
Dabiri-Erewa announced that 13 buses have departed from two universities in the Sudanese Capital, Khartoum, ferrying Nigerian students to the Aswan border in Egypt, where they will be airlifted to Nigeria.
She said the Nigerian embassy in Sudan has informed the Army and the Rapid Support Forces ahead to ensure safe passage for the evacuees.
However, she noted that logistics challenges escalated when more Nigerians who had not been earlier documented for the exercise suddenly expressed interest to return home upon sighting some of the 40 busses.
Dabiri-Erewa revealed that although at least 5,500 Nigerian students are currently schooling in Sudan, the Nigerian population in the Horn country is about three million.
Speaking after Wednesday’s Federal Executive Council meeting, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, said the evacuation process is part of the government’s effort to repatriate Nigerian citizens stranded there since fighting broke out between the Military and the Rapid Support Forces on April 15.
