By John Ikani
The Federal Government has offered an explanation as to why it spent $1.2 million to hire buses to evacuate Nigerians from Sudan.
It is estimated that no fewer than 5,500 Nigerian students are stranded due to the ongoing crisis in Sudan.
To address this situation, the government had released $1.2 million to hire 40 buses to convey its desperate citizens from Sudan to Cairo in Egypt.
The money was paid to a transport company on Tuesday at 12:37 pm by the Central Bank of Nigeria directly into the transport company’s account through the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).
According to a joint statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, the amount was settled in a “condition of war”.
The statement was signed by Amb. Janet Olisa, Director overseeing the Office of the Permanent Secretary, MFA, and Permanent Secretary, FMHADMSD, Dr. Nasir Sani-Gwarzo.
The statement urged the public to “discountenance unverified information being circulated on social media,” which it said was “either due to ignorance or sheer mischief.”
It also stressed that “the outcry over the negotiated sum of $1.2 million for the buses hired for the evacuation exercise was uncalled for.
“The amount was negotiated in a condition of war and where there are competing demands for the same bus services by other countries also trying to evacuate their citizens.”
The statement emphasized that cooperation and understanding of all and sundry are required to complement ongoing efforts aimed at ensuring the safe return of every Nigerian trapped in Sudan.
