Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Air Peace, Allen Onyema, has expressed the airline’s readiness to evacuate Nigerians who are trapped due to the ongoing conflict in Sudan.
There are over 4,000 Nigerian nationals stranded in war-torn Sudan and the airline desires to airlift them free of charge.
Onyema, however, said in a statement that the evacuation could only be possible if the Nigerian government can transport them to a safe and secure airport in any of the neighbouring North-East countries.
The statement reads: “Again, Air Peace is willing to evacuate Nigerians stranded in Sudan free of charge if government can get them to a safe and secure airport in any of the neighbouring countries bordering Sudan. Everything must not be left for the government and government alone.
“It will be a privilege and honour of tremendous pride that we will be out there to give every Nigerian stranded in Sudan a sense of pride and oneness in their country.
“We are very ready to do it immediately. No time wasting. Any action that would promote national pride, national cohesion, peace and unity, we are for it.
“Again, we have no apologies for believing in our nation and loving the nation despite certain national challenges. If they are moved to Kenya or Uganda or any other country, we will move in to get them out. Some parents have started calling on us to help. We are ready to do this again and again.”
This is not the first time that the airline has offered to be of service to the nation by flying stranded Nigerians back home as it had done so in 2019 during the breakout of xenophobic attacks in South Africa.