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•NIDCOM debunks accusation of ethnic bias on boarding of citizens stranded in Sudan
House of Representatives has summoned Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) and National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to appear before it over the crisis trailing the evacuation of Nigerians trapped in war-torn Sudan.
Speaker Femi Gbjabimiala, disclosed this, yesterday, at the resumption of the House from Easter and Sallah holidays.
He said the parliament was aware that inter-agency disagreements was hampering the evacuation of Nigerian students, business people and others, resident in Sudan.
“The House is aware of ongoing difficulties with the evacuation efforts and the Federal Government’s response to the developments in Sudan. We are also mindful that some of these difficulties flow from inter-agency disagreements arising from overlapping mandates and the absence of established operational guidelines for such circumstances. While our priority is to ensure the welfare and well-being of our fellow citizens caught in this war, we must further revisit the statutory and other frameworks that have left us seemingly unprepared to respond promptly and effectively.”
The Speaker said the foreign affairs minister, officials from NIDCOM and NEMA were summoned to give an account of status of the evacuation efforts.
He said the conflict in Sudan should remind Nigerians of the fragility of nations, and that in the pursuit of political objectives, citizens must never lose sight of the fundamental truth that in war, everybody loses, while in peace, everybody can win.
“All our personal, partisan and sectional interests must always succumb to the overarching and overriding interest of ensuring the unity and stability of Nigeria. If we fail in this regard, nothing else will matter, and none of us will be absolved in the judgment of history,” he said.
Meanwhile, NIDCOM has denied the story making the rounds that it prevented some Nigerians, especially of the South East extraction, from boarding buses hired by the Federal Government to evacuate stranded Nigerians from Khartoum, the Sudanese capital.
Its spokesperson, Abdur-Rahman Balogun, quoted the Chairman/ CEO, Abike Dabiri- Erewa, as saying the allegation published in some media organisations was the height of rascality and mischief.
“The allegation by the faceless group, a Coalition of South East Youth Leaders, (COSEYL),signed by one Goodluck Ibem against Abike Dabiri -Erewa who was busy coordinating the two-day conference of Global African Diaspora Symposium (GADS), with 64 countries in attendance in Abuja, is most wicked, divisive and a ridiculous fabrication.
“Reports from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs staff on ground in Khartoum, indicated that when the boarding of buses began, the situation was so chaotic that some people (including non-Nigerians) jumped in violently, some with daggers, through the windows. To bring sanity and to abide by the instruction of the Minister of Foreign Affairs that priority should be given to women, children and students, the officials started calling them in according to states in alphabetical order, beginning with Abia State.
“Reports from Sudan indicate that all who converged at the prescribed locations, were to be picked up, have all been moved in 40 buses either towards Port Sudan or towards Egyptian borders. However, if some arrived after the stipulated time or did not show up at the point of pick up, they can’t blame it on any one.”
