This was disclosed in a letter from the Comptroller-General of Immigration Service (CGIS) Isah Jere Idris, addressed to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama and dated 9th December 2022.

All Head of Missions, Immigration attachés, airports comptrollers and airlines were copied in the letter, with reference number NIS/CGI/FD/208/20 and signed by DCI BM Lawal – a Special Assistant to the Comtroller-General of Immigration Service (Foreign Desk).

It partly read; “Consequently, all Airlines are requested to allow holders of expired Nigerian passports to board without let or hindrance. In addition, all Nigerian Diplomatic Missions abroad are kindly requested to circulate this information to airlines operators and border authorities of host countries for their necessary action.”

The Russian President, Vladimir Putin, in the early hours of Thursday, had ordered an invasion of Ukraine.

The invasion was marked with shelling and rocket attacks on several Ukrainian major cities, including the capital, Kyiv, leading to dozens of deaths

The invasion, which has continued, has created widespread panic and seen many fleeing Ukraine.

Countries such as India, South Africa, among others had announced the facilitation of the evacuation of their nationals from Ukraine to neighbouring Poland by setting up offices at the Ukrainian-Polish borders.

According to the Nigerian Foreign Affairs Ministry, there are no fewer than 5,600 Nigerians in Ukraine, majority of who are students.

Ukraine is a choice destination for many Nigerian students, especially those in medical-related fields, because it is cheaper compared with other western countries.

The National Association of Nigerian Students in Ukraine had sent out a Save Our Soul message to President Buhari seeking immediate evacuation from Ukraine.

On Friday, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, said the Federal Government was concerned about the safety of the 5,600 Nigerians in Ukraine.

“The advice we were getting is that we should not panic. The embassy was in touch with the students telling them to take reasonable precautions,” Onyeama said.

The foreign affairs minister spoke in Abuja after having separate meetings with the Ukrainian ambassador to Nigeria, Kirdoda Valerii, and his Russian counterpart, Alexei Shebarshin.

Onyeama disclosed that during his meeting with the Russian envoy, he discussed the possibility of Nigeria getting her citizens out of Ukraine but the Russian envoy told him there might be risk involved

According to him, Shebarshin, however, said Russia was mindful of the civilians from foreign countries and would take all the necessary measures to ensure their security.

“He was a lot more sanguine, optimistic that no harm will come to them, but we cannot take any risks,” the minister quoted Shebarshin to have said.

However, Onyeama said he made it clear to the Russian envoy that the Federal Government of Nigeria would not condone the violation of the territorial integrity of a United Nations member state with which Nigeria has diplomatic relations.

Onyema said he told Shebarshin that Nigeria was urging Russia to revert to the status quo before the military action on Ukraine and to prioritise diplomacy and dialogue.

“This is really the position of the government. And also, that we have 5,600 Nigerians in Ukraine and we are very concerned about what we are hearing and what we are seeing, regarding missiles and bombs about the safety of our Nigerian citizens over there, that we would like to be able to evacuate them.This would be communicated to his headquarters and that obviously, they consider Nigeria a friendly country and Nigerians; and that they would do nothing to harm Nigerians and assured me that their action is targeted at military installations and that they are not about to start attacking civilian areas and so forth,” Onyeama said.

On his meeting with the Ukrainian envoy, Onyeama said he told Valerii that Nigeria has over 5,000 students and citizens in the country and was very concerned about their safety and welfare.

“And we certainly want the cooperation of the Government of Ukraine to do whatever is possible to ensure their safety and security and to also seek advice as to how the evacuation can be facilitated,” he said.

He quoted the Ukrainian envoy to have said the evacuation of Nigerians in the European country, whose airspace had been shut down following Russia’s invasion, was not possible for now

Valerii, however, said the Ukrainian government had given safety tips and instructions to residents, adding that there was no discrimination between Ukrainians and foreigners in the safety measures.

Onyeama quoted the Ukrainian envoy to have stated that, “Right now, we are in a very difficult situation, but we are fighting against the aggression and we believe that we will all win.

“Ukrainian Government does not differentiate between people on the basis of their nationality and that is the best effort to protect everybody.Currently, the evacuation of Nigerian students is not possible because it is not safe to fly in the sky of Ukraine. As soon as it is safe to fly on the sky of Ukraine, we will join the Embassy of Nigeria in Ukraine and jointly with the Nigerian Government, we will arrange for the evacuation of Nigerian students.”

Valerii expressed gratitude to the Federal Government and people of Nigeria for their support.

Fleeing Nigerian students stranded at Poland border

Nigerians in students fleeing the conflict in Ukraine have been denied access to Poland and are currently stranded at Yarviv, a border town in Ukraine

It was gathered that Polish immigration officials are demanding that all Nigerians who wish to enter must possess visas and authorisation letters which the students have been unable to provide as the Nigerian embassy in Poland has yet to intervene.

The students had headed for the Polish border due to the shutting of Ukraine’s airspace. However, after being denied access to Poland, many of the students are now considering returning to Kyiv, which is now under attack.

A Nigerian student, who gave her name as Victoria, said that, “We were not allowed to pass the Yarviv border. We were told that we had to present visas or authorisation letters. One of the officials here who spoke English told us that our embassy will have to issue us letters of authorisation. The issue now is that they are letting some people stay at the refugee camps but they will take your passports from you.

“We are scared, they are sending us back. It was not even easy to get to the border. Some of us here do not understand the language. So, we can’t even communicate with the locals. We try to use Google translator but we can’t even communicate. It’s not so easy moving in the cold.

“I am afraid; I don’t know what to do. My school sent an email and told us to remain calm and not panic but to be honest, it is hard to tell someone not to panic in this kind of situation. We’ve returned to the bunkers but we will still continue to try our luck.”

The Minister who spoke at a meeting in Abuja with the Executive Director of the Nigerian Export Promotion Council, Olusegun Awolowo, said the quality of products especially agricultural products, do not meet the export standards of many countries.

Onyeama said “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has a comparative and unique advantage to be physically present in over 100 countries in the world.  Now, this represents truly a unique opportunity to leverage that presence to export and trade our goods. There are a number of countries around the world not blessed with the natural resources that we have but yet, through trade, have transformed their societies and have become major economic powers. In engaging with a number of countries, we have seen that, especially in the agriculture sector, the phytosanitary aspect is very important. We are being denied market access into a lot of countries because of the quality of the products. And this is costing us huge resources. So I think that your agency (NEPC) also has a lot of work to do.”

The Minister further said the Federal Government will focus on strengthening economic diplomacy in ensuring Nigeria benefits from countries it has formal relationships with.

FCT Minister, Muhammed Bello, alongside Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, announced this on Tuesday during the inauguration of the road.

Bello said, “Earlier today, the first phase of the on-going Outer Southern Expressway in Abuja was named the ‘Mahamadou Issoufou Expressway’ in honour of the President of the Republic of Niger, Mahamadou Issoufou. The road was named after the Nigerien President by President Muhammadu Buhari as a mark of deep appreciation for the maintenance of a brotherly relationship between Nigeria and the Republic of Niger and in recognition of the Nigerien President’s significant role in the promotion of peace in Africa.”

Acknowledging the honour in his name, the Nigerien President tweeted, “My brother and friend, @MBuhari, did me the honour to call an Abuja expressway ‘Mahamadou Issoufou Expressway’. This testifies, beyond our personal relations, to the excellent relations that exist between #Nigeria and Niger. His caring touches me. I thank him very much.”

Okonjo-Iweala gave the appreciation message when she visited the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where she was received by delegates led by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama.

The WTO DG applauded the Minister for his role in contributing to her success in her race for the WTO DG seat.

“You worked night and day along with the Ministry of Trade and Investment and Minister of State for Foreign Affairs. You worked personally to make sure that this happens. I remember calling you so many nights with one complaint or the other or one demand or the other and you kept your cool and were always trying to sort it all out.

“In short, you were absolutely amazing and I want to thank you for your personal attention to this,” she said.

Okonjo-Iweala also appreciated young Nigerians who she said were always on social media cheering her on.

According to her, this was a crucial encouragement in the ‘tough race’.

“I say it and I will not stop saying it – without all of you and without support from ordinary Nigerians, especially the young people who were always on social media all the time encouraging me, I wouldn’t have been able to make it because it was a very tough competition with eight of us at the start, over a period of six months – very grueling – so it needed a lot of encouragement.

“It’s a proud thing that Nigeria has been able to make it. I am honoured and humbled to have been selected,” Okonjo-Iweala said in her appreciation message.

Recall that Okonjo-Iweala recently emerged as the DG of WTO at a special meeting of the General Council, following a selection process that included eight candidates from around the world.

She was nominated as Nigeria’s candidate to lead the WTO by President Muhammadu Buhari in June 2020.

Okonjo-Iweala officially resumed the office as DG of WTO March 1, 2021.

Femi Adeluyi, technical assistant to the minister of communications and digital economy Isa Pantami said in a statement released on Sunday, January 17, that an enrollment centre is being set up following a request by Geoffrey Onyeama, minister of foreign affairs.

The statement read “The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, has approved the setting up of a National Identity Number (NIN) enrolment centre at the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The desk will be set up by Tuesday, 19th of January, 2021. This enrolment centre will provide support for members of the Diplomatic Corps and will be managed by the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, through the National Identity Management Commission. The centre is being set up based on the request of the Honourable Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, in order to simplify the process for diplomats. The National Identity Number is mandatory for diplomats who will reside in Nigeria for a continuous period of two years or more. It is also mandatory for all other lawful residents in the country as stated in Section 16 of the National Identity Management Commission Act 2007.  The Law has made it mandatory for Nigerians and legal residents to obtain a NIN since 2007. However, compliance has been low, until recently.”

Minister for Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, made this known at a budget defence of the Nigeria Diaspora Commission before the House of Representatives Committee on Diaspora Matters.

He however lamented the meagre allocation of N143 million to the Commission in the 2021 budget estimate.

The Minister, who was represented by his Minister of State, Zubairu Dada, said: “I want to assure you that in three weeks’ time, the Federal government will come out with a Diaspora Policy”.

Giving details of the performance of the 2020 budget, Onyeama said the commission was allocated a personnel cost of N247million with about N206,640 released as at October with a balance of N41,328, 948, 50.

He said further out of the N27,076, 094million released for over head cost, only N22.5m has been accessed and utilised, while out of the N100m budgeted for capital, only N53 million was released, with N52m utilized, leaving a balance, N623,000.

He disclosed that rather than increasing the Commission’s personal budget for 2021, it was reduced from to N143, 795, 80million the N247million submitted to the Budget Office of the Federation.

“We made a proposal of over N247m, but from the observation, it will appear there was a mistake somewhere down the line. we are not aware of any retrenchment at Nidcom. we can’t seem to explain how this figure came about”, the Minister told the Committee,” he said.

The Minister said even though the Commission has a lot of work that would require them travel, it was given zero allocation for international and local travels.

Chairman of the Commission Abike Dabiri-Erewa, told the lawmakers: “There is no provision for office, in the budget; even with the initial budget(of 2020), there was none”.

Chairman of the Diaspora Committee, Hon. Tolulope Akande-Sadipe, assured the Commission the lawmakers will make sure the budget of the commission is increased even above their proposal of N247million for personnel so that the agency can employ more staff and be more efficient.

Ferdinand Nwonye, Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs who received the girls on behalf of the Minister for Foreign Affairs Geoffrey Onyeama, said they arrived at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja on Sunday, September 6.

Nwonye said “I am here on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs who facilitated this return, together with the Ministry of Aviation, Embassy of Nigeria in Beirut, the Lebanese Embassy in Nigeria and the Lebanese community in Nigeria. These are the individuals and institutions that made it possible for you to be here today. It is unfortunate the situation you passed through; which is why the ministries concerned made sure you are here today and we are telling you that you are now home today and nothing will happen to you. Make sure you follow the protocols they advised you on; you know what to do to recover your passports again. You are welcome back home and I wish you journey mercies to your various destinations.”

Speaking during a meeting with officials of the League of Progressive Ambassadors of Nigeria led by its President Jasper Emenike, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama questioned the need for an Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) if countries in the regional political and economic union will make laws and regulations that are in contradiction with the protocol.

He said “What is the point of having an economic community if, at the end of the day, each country will make laws and regulations that are in contradiction with the protocol? That is an issue that needs to be addressed.  We have the intention of calling our Charge D’Affaires in Ghana for consultation and again to get to the fact. We don’t want to anticipate what our actions would be, but we will consider all the options depending on the facts. Clearly, if it is contravening ECOWAS protocol, then we would have to look at the solution, including the ECOWAS court as the final arbiter. We will also consider the issue of reciprocity in terms of the concrete measures that will be applied. We are following the matter very closely and we want the matter to be addressed within the shortest possible time.”

He tweeted “By the very special grace of God, my latest COVID-19 test result came back negative after three weeks isolation. I am eternally grateful to my family, the C-in-C and VP, the medical team, relations, friends, colleagues, religious leaders and numerous well-wishers, who through their care, prayers, fasting, messages of support and encouragement never let me walk alone.”

The minister had announced that he tested positive for the novel virus on July 19.