Some state governments on Saturday evacuated their indigenes/those sponsored by them, who were entrapped in the ongoing Sudanese crisis.
This is as the Federal Government on Friday called on relevant authorities along contiguous borders of Sudan to create a humane condition for about 7,000 nationals, including Nigerians, to have unfettered access to their various destinations.
Sunday PUNCH reports that Borno, Jigawa and Kaduna States have evacuated their indigenes in Sudan.
The Chairman of the Nigerian Community (Elders Forum) in Sudan, Dr Hashim Na’Allah said: “Yes, Kaduna State and Jigawa State governments evacuated their students today.”
Another student, Abdullah Anyuabuga, said, “Kaduna government moved their students and left today.”
The Chairman of Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa said on Saturday that the country’s mission in Egypt was making arrangements for the payment of visa fees for stranded Nigerians at the border of the country.
Dabiri-Erewa had said that the nationals were not being allowed to cross the border into Egypt since their arrival on Thursday evening.
However, giving updates on the stranded Nigerians at the Egypt border, Dabiri-Erewa said: “The mission has made arrangements to pay nine dollars per person and 25 dollars visa fees. Within Egypt itself, one cannot travel from one region to another without an exit permit. We are expecting a CI30 to take off within the hour. NAF is getting set to depart with food etc for Aswan.”
However, those who were not evacuated by the government of their respective state expressed disappointment as the ceasefire ends Sunday.
On Friday, the Embassy of Nigeria in Sudan said the second batch of the evacuation of stranded Nigerians in Khartoum to Egypt would commence on Saturday. This was contained in a statement signed by the Charge d’ Affairs, H. Y. Garko.
The President of the Association of Yoruba Student Union in Sudan, Mubarak Ahmed said on Saturday that the embassy officials claim that they were waiting for an alert as there was no money available, adding that the students had convened at the university earlier in the day and waited for a resolution to their plight which proved abortive.
Ahmed added: “We have been here since 5am. We are tired of sitting in the bus, since morning. Up till now, the buses did not move. The drivers claimed that they have not been paid.
“The embassy officials are saying there is no money, they are waiting for the alert. We converged here this morning at El-razi University in Azhari, Khartoum.”
Also, the President of the Nasarawa State Students Association in Sudan, Al-Ameen Ahmad, stated, “We are tired of this situation. We were very happy when we saw these buses. Early morning, we were all seated in the bus but after some hours, we came down. We had enough buses stationed at various universities but the drivers refused to move because they claimed they had not been paid. The Nigerian government is playing with this ceasefire. By Sunday, it would be over. I wonder what will become of some of us here.”
