President Mohammadu Buhari has directed the release of $8.5m (N3,535,150,000.00) to facilitate the immediate evacuation of 5,000 Nigerians from Ukraine, Poland, Romania, Hungary and Slovakia.

Briefing journalists after the Council meeting presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at the Council Chambers of the Presidential Villa, Abuja, the Minister of humanitarian affairs, disaster management and social development, Hajiya Sadiya Umar Farouk, joined by the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Zubairu Dada, said the amount is to evacuate at least 5,000 nationals stranded as a result of the Russia-Ukraine crisis.

According to him, the Federal Government has contracted Air Peace and Max Air airlines to avail three aircraft to facilitate the evacuation.

He said the evacuees include 940 from Romania, 150 from Slovakia and 350 from Poland who have registered to leave.

“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”, he said.

Meanwhile, he revealed that evacuation is expected to commence today.