•Evacuation only for documented Nigeria
•ECOWAS condemns invasion, calls for dialogue
Mukaila Ola
Contingent of Nigerians fleeing from Ukraine after the invasion by Russia could not leave Poland on Thursday has their flight has to be rescheduled.
The flight has since been rescheduled for Friday when they are expected to begin the nine hours journey to Abuja, Nigeria’s capital.
Speaking to journalist on the reason behind the rescheduling of the flight, Ambassador Bolaji Akinyemi, the leader of the Nigeria’s delegation to Poland to evacuate the Nigerians, said the airport authority did not allowed the flight to be boarded because of reason having to doing with overshooting the time allotted for the flight
Akinyemi told journalists on Tuesday in Poland that: “The reality is that the flight has been rescheduled for tomorrow, and then main reason is because of delay during the checking in, they have to gather them together from different hotels and by the time they would be ready after the checking in, the crew that has been waiting since 9am had overshot the time allotted to them because they have a duty hour which is allocated to them, they have waited from 9-2pm and that means they have already waited five hours and they are going to have nine hours flight and that was already more than what is the standard.”
He added that: “The authority of the airport said they won’t allow us to board, this is the reality and then we have to come down.
“Arrangement has been made to ensure that we all stay together in the same hotel and we leave very early tomorrow; 4am we hit the bus and then we can join the flight.”
Scheduled Airpeace Charter Flight evacuating Nigerians from Poland today to Abuja cancelled. Passengers are now being redirected to baggage reclaim. The reason for the cancellation can not be immediately verified.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian government has said that the evacuation from Ukraine is only for documented Nigerians and that any undocumented Nigerian would first have to set their record right with the nation’s embassies in Romania, Poland and Hungary.
A statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday signed by it’s spokesperson, Francisca Omayuli read:
“The Federal Government of Nigeria wishes to inform that arrangements are being concluded for the evacuation of the first batch of Nigerian nationals willing to return home via Romania, Poland and Hungary.
“Intending evacuees should kindly note that only persons documented with the Nigerian
Embassies will be eligible for evacuation. Consequently, those yet to register for the exercise are advised to do so, as it is a mandatory requirement.
“Those without passports will be issued Emergency Travel Certificates (ETC) to enable them travel back home.”
The statement further added that: “For documentation and further inquiries, please contact the following Embassies:
Nigerian Embassy, Bucharest, Romania: +40786091964; +2348032882810 (WhatsApp)
Email: headofmission@nigeriaembromania.gov.ng or info@nigeriaembromania.gov.ng
Nigerian Embassy, Warsaw, Poland: +48889410270; +48579201775
Email: nigeria.warsaw@foreignaffairs.gov.ng
Nigerian Embassy, Budapest, Hungary: +36308202903; +36308639203
Email: embassy@nigerianembassy.hu or secretary@nigerianembassy.hu
ECOWAS condemns invasion, calls for dialogue
The Economic Community of West African States has condemned the invasion of Ukraine by Russian Army, urging for ceasefire and immediate initiation of dialogue.
The regional body in a statement made available on Monday to journalists said it has followed with great concern “the military invasion of the Republic of Ukraine by Russia which has led to human casualties, particularly among civilians.
“ECOWAS strongly condemns this action and call for both parties to stop the fighting and to use dialogue to solve their differences in the interest of peace in this region.”
The regional body also call on all parties to ensure the safety of the citizens of all its members states living in Ukraine.