By Gift Chapi Odekina
The House of Representatives on Thursday called for the urgent evacuation of Nigerian students in Ukraine following the worsening conflict with Russia.
The Leader of the House, Alhassan Doguwa, and the Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Buba Yakub, were mandated to liaise with the Ministry Foreign Affairs, the Nigeria Intelligence Agency (NIA) to bring the students back. Doguwa and Yakub were directed to ensure they travel to Ukraine on Friday and come back with as many Nigerians students as possible by Monday.
The House resolved that if nothing comes of this arrangement, then it would work with local airline, Air Peace, to see how the students can be brought home in a manner that would be devoid of bureaucracy and bottlenecks. The House mandated the Committees on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora in conjunction with the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs to ascertain the exact figures of Nigerians affected by this conflict and put in place a comprehensive monitoring, evaluation and evaluation mechanism.
The Committees on Foreign Affairs and Legislative Compliance were mandated to ensure compliance. These followed the adoption of a motion of of urgent importance to evacuate Nigerian students in Ukraine moved by Hon Ahmed Munir. The House noted that there is a worsening conflict between Russia and Ukraine of which the situation is deteriorating by the hour.
It also noted that Nigeria has a significant number of undergraduate and graduate students currently studying in Ukraine of which a portion are under government scholarships. This is in addition to a number of Nigerian diplomats and their families in the Kiev embassy and Nigerian expatriates across Ukraine, the House noted. It was concerned that if a strategic plan is not put in place to secure and provide safe passage for Nigerian citizens, they may be trapped or worse, harmed.
