NLC charges Nigerian govt to quickly evacuate Nigerians trapped in Sudan

The Federal Government has come under fire from the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) for delaying the evacuation of Nigerian nationals who are trapped in Sudan as a result of a raging conflict between two military factions.

No Nigerian should be permitted to die in Sudan as a result of the incompetence of the Nigerian government, the NLC said in a statement on Saturday that was signed by its president, Joe Ajaero.

The NLC also described as unacceptable, the government’s “excuse that attempting to evacuate our nationals through the Airport is risky”.

The Chairman of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), Abike Dabiri-Erewa, had said the authorities were experiencing challenges, particularly with regards to airlifting Nigerian nationals from Sudan.

The NLC, however, stated that all measures must be considered, including creating a secure corridor to adjacent nations to enable the safe evacuation of Nigerian residents over the numerous land borders.

It also suggested that “the government work out an arrangement with the international community to create a safe haven for all foreign nationals in the country to serve as a buffer to all foreign nationals against the vagaries of the War while peace effort is being made or other safer methods of evacuation are developed.”

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“Our concern is that while our government resorts to the usual lethargy and excuses, the lives of our nationals in Sudan already exposed to serious danger may begin to experience losses or injuries. We urge the federal government through the concerned agencies and Ministries to take urgent step to avoid death and injuries to our citizens in that country,” NLC stated.

The statement further read, “Nigerians must not be allowed to die in Sudan because of negligence. No effort should be spared in ensuring their safety and ultimately evacuation to Nigeria if the War persists and escalates into a full blown war.

“It remains the duty of the government and we urge the federal government to make this happen unless they want to tell us that these lives are not as important as the lives of the children of those in authority and does not deserve to be protected?

“As we await a quick and positive action towards evacuating our citizens, we would want measures to be put in place to make their lives comfortable on arrival especially for those who own businesses in the Sudan and have suffered loss of businesses as a result. It does not make sense bringing them home without putting in place proper platforms to take care of their needs here.”

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