House of Representatives has on Thursday demanded an immediate evacuation of Nigerians in Ukraine, offering to shoulder the responsibility.
The demand comes few hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a military operation in Ukraine with explosions heard soon after across the country and its foreign minister warning a “full-scale invasion” was underway.
According to reports, Nigeria has the 5th largest delegation of foreign students in Ukraine.
@HouseNGR leader, Chair, committee on @NigeriaMFA affairs to jet out to Ukraine, Friday
— House of Reps NGR (@HouseNGR) February 24, 2022
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Lawmakers are, however, concerned that there are many Nigerian students in Ukraine who could be caught in the crossfire.
The motion was moved by representative Ahmed Munir during plenary on Thursday.
However, some lawmakers fear that it may be too late as the evacuation should have been done long ago.
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, agreed with a lawmaker, Leke Abejide, to interact with the Chairman of Air Peace, Allen Onyema to evacuate Nigerians from Ukraine by Monday, February 28.
House Committee on Foreign Affairs has been mandated to liaise with the Foreign Affairs Ministry.
The latest development comes few hours after Nigerian Embassy in Ukraine told Nigerians to remain calm and take responsibility for their security.
A statement issued by Nigerian Embassy, in Kiev, urged Nigerian students seeking temporary relocation to seek proper clearance and guarantee form before relocating.
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The warning was contained in an Embassy notice titled “New Travel Advice By The Embassy Of Nigeria, Ukraine”.
It explained that any Nigerian who considers the crisis as emotionally disturbing, should temporarily relocate to anywhere they consider safe by “private arrangement.”
The Embassy advised all Nigerians to ensure that they validate all their resident documents for ease of return to the country when desired.
