Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila has explained why the evacuation of Nigerians from crisis-torn Sudan is hampered.
He said the evacuation is fraught with difficulties because of disagreements among government agencies.
The Speaker, who spoke on resumption of plenary after the Easter and Salah breaks, said there was the need to revisit the statutory and other frameworks that have left the country seemingly unprepared to respond promptly and effectively to emergency situations.
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The Speaker asked the Minister of Foreign Affairs and officials from the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) and the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to appear before the House to give an account of the status of evacuation efforts.
Gbajabiamila said: “The House is aware of ongoing difficulties with the evacuation efforts and the federal government’s response to the developments in the Republic of Sudan. We are also mindful that some of these difficulties flow from interagency disagreements arising from overlapping mandates and the absence of established operational guidelines for such circumstances.
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“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 conflict in the Republic of Sudan reminds us once more of the fragility of nations. In pursuing our political objectives, we must never lose sight of the fundamental truth that in war, everybody loses; 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.”
The Nation
