Sudan Crisis: FG Spends $1.2m To Hire 40 Buses For Evacuation Of Nigerians From Sudan To Egypt

The Federal Government on Wednesday, announced that it had spent $1.2 million to deploy 40 buses for the evacuation of over 2,400 Nigerians who were stuck in Sudan.

After the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, which was presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari and held in the Council Chamber of the Presidential Villa in Abuja, Mr. Geoffrey Onyeama, Minister of Foreign Affairs, informed State House correspondents of this.

READ ALSO: Sudan Crisis: Nigeria Evacuation Team In Sudan, Receive Buses To Convey Students To Egypt (PHOTOS)

The Minister said the amount for the evacuation includes the provision of security cover for the eight-hour journey from Luxol to Cairo and the eleven-hour trip from Aswan to Cairo, Egypt.

He claimed that the Nigerian government’s plans to safely remove its residents from the civil war-torn Sudan dominated the council meeting’s proceedings.

Despite their agreement to end hostilities at midnight on Monday, the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces reportedly resumed fighting on Wednesday, even as a hospital was being bombarded.

No alternative arrangements for the evacuees’ ongoing study, the majority of whom are University of Khartoum students, are being discussed, according to Onyeama, who underlined that no Nigerians lost their lives in the war.

Recall that about 40 buses were sent to move Nigerians out of Khartoum and other troubled parts of Sudan early Wednesday.

The Nigerian Diaspora Commission had explained that the evacuation planned for Tuesday failed due to logistic challenges.

Chairperson of the Commission, Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, confirmed that the new travel plans were finalised Tuesday night.

She tweeted “Last night, the Nigeria Evacuation team in Sudan received some buses to transport Nigerian Students to nearby borders in Egypt, before airlifting them to Nigeria, this has been sorted by Federal Government through @nemanigeria and the Nigerian Embassy in Sudan.

“More buses are arriving this morning and the stranded students will depart today.”