The Board of Trustees of the Aliko Dangote Foundation (ADF) has declared its readiness to be fully involved in the evacuation and resettling of thousands of Nigerians stranded in crisis-hit Sudan.

The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the ADF, Zouera Youssoufou, in a statement issued on Sunday, April 30, said she has been in contact with the management of Air Peace and the Federal Government to indicate the Foundation’s readiness to evacuate Nigerians stranded from the North African country.

“The Foundation will collaborate with the Federal Government and Air Peace in ensuring seamless transportation of the stranded Nigerians and more importantly provide logistics and succour to the evacuees, to make them settle more comfortably when they return to Nigeria,” she said.

The Foundation MD further stated that ADF understands the challenges of the Federal Government and Air Peace involved in the mission, adding that the Foundation has contacted relevant government agencies, involved in humanitarian disaster relief intervention, “indicating our interest in collaborating with them to ensure that all Nigerians stranded in Sudan are brought back home safely.”

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Meanwhile, a statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management, and Social Development revealed that the first batch of 13 buses conveying 637 evacuees had arrived at the safe borders in Aswan, Egypt, and are undergoing necessary documentation and clearance before admission into the Egyptian territory for their eventual evacuation to Nigeria.

Sudan has been experiencing intense clashes between the country’s military and the main paramilitary force.

Hundreds of people have been killed, while thousands that are fleeing the country were stranded at the Sudan-Egypt border because of visa requirements demanded by Egypt.

It would be recalled that Aliko Dangote Foundation supported the Federal Government with logistics support for the Nigerian volunteer health workers who supported the Ebola containment efforts in Liberia and Sierra Leone upon their return to the country in 2015.

Also, during the COVID-19 pandemic, ADF supported the return of Nigerians from India and Dubai during the outbreak of the pandemic with specially chartered flights and COVID-19 testing and quarantining when they arrived back in Nigeria.

Since 2011, ADF has supported several thousand IDPs in Yobe, Borno, Adamawa, and Abuja with a total spending of over N25 billion in the provision of food, shelter, and health services.

The Star