The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari(retd) has approved $8.5m (N3,535,150,000.00) to enable the evacuation of 5,000 Nigerians from Ukraine, Poland, Romania, Hungary and Slovakia.

At least 940 evacuees from Romania, 150 from Slovakia and 350 from Poland have registered to leave, The PUNCH reported, quoting the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of Nigeria, Zubairu Dada.

Dada made the disclosure to State House Correspondents after the Federal Executive Council meeting held in Abuja on Wednesday.

The FEC meeting was presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at the Council Chambers of the Presidential Villa, Abuja, in the absence of Buhari.

WuzupNigeria reported that the president flew out of Nigeria on Tuesday to attend the Commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of the United Nations Environmental Programme in Kenya, after which he would embark on a two-week medical leave in the United Kingdom.

However, Dada added that the Federal Government has contracted Air Peace and Max Air airlines to deploy three aircraft to facilitate the evacuation.

“The ministry of humanitarian affairs wrote a memo to the president seeking funding to enable us to conduct this exercise. The memo was to the tune of $8.5m which Mr. President has graciously approved. That provision entails an arrangement to evacuate no less than 5,000 Nigerians.

“It also includes some assistance for the feeding that may have been done by the missions under whatever arrangements. Even the missions themselves are also in dire situations.”