The House of Representatives has called for the immediate evacuation of Nigerian students in Ukraine as the tension between Ukraine and Russia thickens.
This resolution followed the adoption of a motion of Urgent National Importance raised during plenary on Thursday by Ahmed Munir (APC, Kano) to evacuate Nigerian students in Ukraine.
The House therefore drafted the Leader of the House, Alhassan Ado-Doguwa, and the Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Buba Yakub to liaise with the Ministry Foreign Affairs, the Nigeria Intelligence Agency (NIA) to bring the students back without delay.
Doguwa and Yakub were directed to ensure they travel to Ukraine on Friday and come back with as many Nigerian students as possible by Monday.
The Green Chamber also resolved that if nothing comes of this arrangement, then it would work with local airlines like, Air Peace, to see how the students can be brought home in a manner that would be devoid of bureaucracy and bottlenecks.
It further 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 strict compliance. 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 harmed.
