The House of Representatives on Thursday called on Federal Government to put necessary measures in place for the evacuation of Nigerian students in Ukraine following the worsening conflict with Russia.
The resolution was passed sequel to the adoption of a motion of Urgent Importance to evacuate Nigerian Students in Ukraine sponsored by Hon. Ahmed Munir, who solicited for the House intervention.
To this end, the House mandated the Majority Leader, Hon. Alhassan Ado-Doguwa and Chairman, House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Hon. Buba Yakub to liaise with the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Nigeria Intelligence Agency (NIA) with the view to airlift the Students back to Nigeria without further delay.
The House mandated the Majority Leader and his team to travel to Ukraine on Friday and come back with as many Nigerian students as possible by Monday.
The House also resolved that if nothing comes of this arrangement, then it would work with the 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 comprehensive monitoring, evaluation and evaluation mechanism.
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 out of which a significant portion, is under government scholarships, as well as a number of Nigerian diplomats and their families in the Kyiv Embassy and Nigerian expatriates across Ukraine.
The lawmakers further expressed concern 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.
To this end, the House mandated the joint Committees on Foreign Affairs and Legislative Compliance were mandated to ensure compliance.
CULLED FROM TRIBUNE
