The Nation Newspaper

Tag: evacuate

  • Max Air to evacuate 3,184 Nigerians from Libya

    Max Air to evacuate 3,184 Nigerians from Libya

    Max Air Ltd. has sealed a deal with the Federal government to evacuate 3,184 of the 5,037 Nigerians expected to return from Libya.

    The airline’s spokesman Alhaji Ibrahim Dahiru said in Kano yesterday that the contract agreement was signed between the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and the representative of the airline Malam Shehu Wada.

    “With this development, Max Air is expected to operate six flights to bring in 3,184 Nigerians from Libya, using its large fleet of Boeing 747-400 series aircraft,” he said adding that recently, Niger Republic engaged the Airline to evacuate over 5, 000 Nigeriens which it did successfully.

    He added: “Max Air Ltd. has also been the leading Airline in Hajj and Umrah Operations in the last 11 years in Nigeria.

    “The airline has also been involved in the evacuation of Nigerians from Libya and Egypt recently as well as the movement of many Nigerians, especially sports men and women and military personnel.”

    According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the Federal Government appointed the Med-View Airline also through the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), to participate in the evacuation of 5,037 Nigerians from Libya.

    The Airline’s Executive Director, Business Development and Commercial, Mr Isiaq Na’Allah, and Mr Ibrahim Farinloye, the spokesman of NEMA, South-West Zone, confirmed the development in Lagos on Saturday.

    The agreement was signed between the parties on Friday in Abuja. It is expected to facilitate the smooth repatriation of Nigerians from the volatile North African country.

    The agreement was signed on behalf of the airline by Na’ Allah, while the Director-General of NEMA, Alhaji Mustapha Maihaja and Mrs Fatima Bukar, a Senior Legal Officer of NEMA, signed on behalf of the agency.

  • Council to evacuate flood victims

    Ten thousand people are to be evacuated from 20 flood-prone communities in Wurno Local Government Area of Sokoto State.

    The Caretaker Chairman of the council, Alhaji Shehu Chacho, who addressed reporters yesterday in Wurno, the local government headquarters, said the affected communities included Gidan-Kamba, Gidan-Bango one and two, ‘Yar-Wurnoni, Gidan-Modu, Lahodu, Tunga, Barayara Zaki, Arba, Koliyal, among others.

    He said a meeting was convened to discuss the planned release of excess water from the Goronyo dam by the Sokoto Rima River Basin Development Authority (SRBDA).

    According to him, the need to evacuate residents was a proactive measure to minimise destruction, adding: “The people in these communities have to be evacuated to primary schools, government quarters and other government buildings.

    “This action becomes necessary to prevent the loss of lives and property.”

  • Group urges FG to evacuate Nigerians in SA

    Group urges FG to evacuate Nigerians in SA

    Osun Civil Societies Coalition (OCSC) has called on the Federal Government to begin the evacuation of Nigerians from South Africa following xenophobic attacks on foreign nationals in the country.

    In a statement by its Publicity Secretary, Comrade Ismaeel Uthman, the group urged the government not to wait further and allow more Nigerians in South Africa to be killed before it swings into action.

    Describing the allowance being proposed by the government for Nigerians in South Africa due to the xenophobia attacks as a misplacement of priority, the group said what is needed at this point is the evacuation of Nigerian nationals as soon as possible.

    The human rights group reminded President Goodluck Jonathan that his primary responsibility is to protect lives and properties of Nigeria citizens both at home and in Diaspora, adding that the President should, without delay, commence the process of taking Nigerians out of South Africa.

     

  • Fed Govt urged to evacuate Bayelsa residents

    An Ado-Ekiti indigene, who just returned from Bayelsa State, Mrs. Olusola Ayodele, has urged the Federal Government to evacuate flood victims trapped in Bayelsa.

    Mrs. Ayodele, who runs a chain of private schools in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital, said she had lived there for over 14 years.

    She said many victims cannot access the relief materials provided by the Federal Government because they cannot come out of their homes.

    Mrs. Ayodele added: “Ogbia Local Government Area is submerged. The President’s hometown, Otueke; Emea 1 and the Federal Medical Centre (FMC) in Yenagoa are all covered with water.

    “The government is trying to assist people, but the assistance is not getting to those trapped in their houses. The only vehicles that can get into Bayelsa now are trucks, because they are very high.

    “The water level has continued to rise and many people cannot come out of their homes. As I speak, my younger sister, Mrs. Olubukola Ake, is among those trapped in their homes.”

    Mrs. Ayodele said the cost of food in Bayelsa State has sky rocketed. She said a sachet of water now costs between N20 and N30.

    She said the whole state is flooded and the only way to save the people would be to take them out before the situation gets worse.

    Mrs. Ayodele said: “I am saying all these because I have come to see Bayelsans as my extended family and their condition has been giving me sleepless nights. Although I am back in Ado-Ekiti, my roots, I am concerned about them.”

    The Governor Peter Obi Administration in Anambra State has spent N40 million to assist victims of flood disaster.

    Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget Prof. Stella Okunna spoke at a news conference in Awka yesterday.

    According to Okunna, the 21 camps created by the state government for the displaced persons in different parts of the state are properly planned to take care of the victims.

    She dismissed any fear of epidemics in the camps, saying that health workers had been engaged and mobilised to provide health care services to the displaced people.

    The commissioner said all children of school age whose parents were displaced had been enrolled into various schools within the camps to prevent disruption of their academic calendar.

    Okunna also spoke on plans by the government to constitute a flood disaster relief coordinating committee to be headed by the Secretary to the State Government, Mr Oseloka Obaze.

    She said government had opened accounts in Diamond Bank and Fidelity Bank for people wishing to donate to the victims.