March 4, 2022

The first batch of 415 Nigerians fleeing from the war in Ukraine has arrived at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja from Romania.

The evacuees arrived in Abuja via Max Air by 7.10 a.m on Friday.

The stranded Nigerians had fled Ukraine to Bucharest from where they were successfully evacuated to Nigeria following the intervention of the federal government with the cooperation of governments of countries neighbouring Ukraine.

According to Gabriel Aduda, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the federal government has made all necessary arrangements to ensure that no Nigerian is left stranded in any of the countries where they have fled to.

Aduda said that Nigerian airlines – Air Peace and Air Max – would transport stranded Nigerians from Romania, Hungary, and Poland.

He said that evacuation had already begun and the evacuees would begin to arrive in Nigeria from March 4.

The permanent secretary, however, urged citizens stranded in the countries neighbouring Ukraine and willing to be evacuated to Nigeria to register for the process as only those documented with the Nigerian Embassies would be eligible for evacuation. (NAN)