The Chairman of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), Abike Dabiri-Erewa, disclosed this on Thursday to journalists at the 70th session of the State House ministerial briefing organised by the oresidential communications team at the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja.
The Nigerian government has said that the first batch of Nigerians evacuated from warring Sudan are expected to arrive in the country on Friday.
The Chairman of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), Abike Dabiri-Erewa, disclosed this on Thursday to journalists at the 70th session of the State House ministerial briefing organised by the oresidential communications team at the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja.
Dabiri-Erewa said that 13 buses conveying Nigerian students to the Aswan border in Egypt, where they would be airlifted to Nigeria departed from the two universities in the Sudanese Capital, Khartoum.
The NiDCOM boss said the Nigerian embassy in Sudan informed the army and the Rapid Support Forces ahead to ensure safe passage for the evacuees.
She noted that logistics challenges escalated when more Nigerians who had not been earlier documented for the exercise suddenly expressed interest to return home upon sighting some of the 40 buses.
She revealed that although at least 5,500 Nigerian students are currently schooling in Sudan, as the Nigerian population in the Horn of Africa country is about three million.
SaharaReporters also earlier reported that the buses sent to evacuate the thousands of stranded Nigerian students and other nationals from the warring Sudan were stopped in the middle of the Sahara desert by the drivers who claimed that the Nigerian government and other relevant stakeholders had not paid them.
This came a day after the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffery Onyeama said the Nigerian government would be spending $1.2million to hire 40 luxurious buses for the evacuation of Nigerians trapped in Sudan.