FG Reschedules Evacuation Of Nigerians From South Africa

The Federal Government has rescheduled the airlifting of the first batch of Nigerians willing to leave South Africa following recent xenophobic attacks against Blacks in the country.

Naija News reports that the first evacuation flight, earlier scheduled for Monday, will now take place on Wednesday.

The spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kimiebi Ebienfa, disclosed this in a statement on Monday.

Ebienfa said the evacuation was rescheduled due to unforeseen logistical considerations.

According to him, President Bola Tinubu approved five evacuation flights to be operated by Nigerian private airline, Air Peace.

The first flight is expected to convey about 270 passengers from Johannesburg after necessary permits and clearances have been secured.

Ebienfa said the screening of Nigerians interested in returning home had been extended to Wednesday.

He said, “I received confirmation from our mission in Pretoria that the screening exercise of Nigerian nationals, who have indicated interest to be evacuated back home, has been extended to Wednesday.

“So far, more than 500 persons have been screened and cleared.”

The ministry said the first evacuation flight would depart Johannesburg on Wednesday evening. The Federal Government said arrangements were ongoing to ensure that cleared Nigerians return safely.