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Russian Invasion: FG Urges Citizens In Ukraine To Be Calm …Begins Moves To Evacuate Nigerians …As Reps Assure 4,227 Students, Others Of Support
The Nigerian Embassy in Ukraine has urged citizens in the country to remain calm and be responsible for their own personal security.
It advised those who want to relocate to a safe place to ensure that they validate all their resident documents for ease of return to Ukraine when they desire.
This was contained in a statement, yesterday, following the declaration of State of Emergency and Martial Law by the Ukrainian government over the invasion by Russia.
The statement read, “The attention of the Embassy has been drawn to a declaration of State of Emergency, and Martial Law on the entire territory of Ukraine, except the Donestk and Luhansk regions by the government of Ukraine, effective from mid-night of February 23, 2022, for a period of 30 days as well as the latest development on the Ukraine-Russia crisis.
“With this, regional (OBLAST) Commissions are to decide on the necessary security measures to adopt in strengthening the protection of public order and facilities for the safety of the citizenry and the running of the economy in their domain. It can be restriction of movement, an additional inspection and verification of certain documents of individuals among others. These are preventing measures aimed at ensuring that the country remains calm and the economy continues to function uninterrupted while it lasted.
“In view of the development, the Embassy urges Nigerian nationals resident in Ukraine to remain calm but be very vigilant and responsible for their personal security and safety.
“The Embassy wishes to add that should any Nigerian national consider the situation as emotionally disturbing, such national may wish to relocate to anywhere considered safe by private arrangements. They should, however, ensure that they do all the needful to validate all their resident documents for ease of return to the country when desired.
“In addition, in case of students seeking such temporary relocation, they are enjoined to seek proper clearance and guarantee from their respective institutions, authorities/agents on the way forward in respect to their studies during the period and/or thereafter.
“For those who still consider it appropriate to remain in the country, be assured that the Embassy remains open for its consular duties and responsibilities at all times. It will always avail you updates when necessary.”
However, the Federal Government has said measures to keep Nigerians in Ukraine safe and to evacuate those who wish to leave the war-hit country are ongoing.
This was disclosed in a statement titled, ‘Federal Government Reassures Of Its Commitment To The Safety Of Nigerians In Ukraine,’ signed by the Spokesperson, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Francisca Omayuli, yesterday.
It read, “The Federal Government has received with surprise, reports of the invasion of Ukraine by Russia.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been reassured by the Nigerian Embassy in Ukraine of the safety of Nigerians in that country and measures being undertaken to keep them safe and facilitate the evacuation of those who wish to leave.”
“In the meantime, the Nigerian Mission has confirmed that military action by the Russians has been confined to military installations,” the statement added.
Earlier, the House of Representatives had urged the Federal Government to immediately commence the evacuation of Nigerian citizens living in Ukraine.
This is coming on the heels of the invasion of the country with military onslaught by Russian government.
To this end, the House directed its Majority Leader, Hon. Ado Doguwa; and Chairman Committee on Foreign Affairs, Hon. Yakub Buba; to liaise with the Foreign Affairs Ministry, National Intelligence Agency and Ukrainian embassy to achieve the purpose.
The House resolution followed a motion of urgent national importance moved at the plenary, yesterday by Hon. Ahmed Munir.
In his motion, Munir said the conflict between Russia and Ukraine was deteriorating.
He said “There is a worsening conflict between Russia and of which the situation is deteriorating by the hour
“We have a significant number of undergraduate and graduate students currently studying in Ukraine of which portions are under government scholarships. This is in addition to a number of Nigerian diplomats and their families in the Kiev embassy and Nigerian expatriates across Ukraine.
“If a strategic plan is not put in place to secure and provide safe passage for our citizens, they may be trapped or worse, harmed”.
The lawmaker then prayed the Committees on Foreign Affairs and diaspora in conjunction with the Federal Ministry of foreign Affairs to ascertain the exact figures of Nigerians affected by this conflict and put in place a comprehensive monitoring, evaluation and evaluation mechanism.
In his remarks, the Speaker, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila suggested an interface with the ministry, NIA and embassy for immediate evacuation of Nigerians in Ukraine.
Gbajabiamila also suggested that should the meeting fail to take urgent decision, the House should immediately contact the Chairman of Air Peace, Allen Onyema, regardless of the cost and head to Ukraine tomorrow (Friday) and evacuate the students (Monday).
“This is a very important motion that we discussed. Time is of the essence. A state of emergency has been declared, I listened to the news yesterday, and even America said it’s not going to be bloodless. We should be more proactive and I think it’s better late than never. It’s important that at this point to forget all the bureaucratic bottlenecks, and look out for our citizens, especially students.
“Action needs to be taken now and my thought is that leader of the House Hon. Ado Doguwa and Chairman Foreign Affairs, Hon. Buba Yakub should liaise with the ministry foreign affairs, NIA and embassy in Ukraine and if nothing positive comes out of it, then we should liaise with chairman air peace. Whatever it’s going to cost the House, you need to leave this country latest tomorrow and come back on Monday with many of our students”, he said.
Adopting the motion, the speaker mandated the Committees on Foreign Affairs and Legislative Compliance to ensure compliance.
However, the House of Representatives is offering to “shoulder immediate evacuations of Nigerian citizens and students from Ukraine” after the Foreign Ministry urged nationals in the country “to be responsible for their safety.”
A message from the official Twitter handle of the parliament said “@HouseNGR offer to shoulder immediate evacuation of Nigerians, students from Ukraine. @HouseNGR leader, Chair, committee on @NigeriaMFA affairs to jet out to Ukraine, Friday.”
A Nigeria student in Kiev, Ukraine’s capital, Eldrenna Nwachief, tweeted and said: “I’ve packed my emergency bag up.
“Internet has gone down. Some services are not working. Refugees camp hasn’t been set up yet, but we’re waiting for a signal to move.”
The Nigerian government has issued an advisory to its citizens in Ukraine, saying they are “responsible for their personal security and safety.”
The Nigerian Embassy in Ukraine had said: “The embassy urges Nigerian nationals resident in Ukraine to remain calm, but be very vigilant and be responsible for their personal security and safety.”
There are thousands of Nigerians living in Ukraine, many of whom are students in various higher institutions in the country numbering into 4,000, according to official records.
The statement also asked students seeking temporary relocation to seek proper clearance and guarantee from their respective institutions, authorities/agents.
“In case of students seeking such temporary relocation, they are enjoined to seek proper clearance and guarantee from their respective institutions, authorities/agents on the way forward in respect to their studies during this period and/or thereafter,” the embassy told students.
“For those who still consider it appropriate to remain in the country, be assured that the embassy remains open for its consular duties and responsibilities at all times.
“It will always avail you of updates when necessary,” it said.
It also advised Nigerians, who do not feel safe in their current locations, to make private arrangements to move to places they consider safer.
“The embassy wishes to add that should any of Nigerian nationals consider the situation as emotionally disturbing, such nationals may wish to temporarily relocate to anywhere considered safe by private arrangements they should, however, ensure that they do all the needful to validate all their resident documents for ease of return to the country when desired.”
According to Ukraine’s Ministry of Education and Science in 2020, of the 76,548 international students in Ukraine, 4,227 are Nigerians, the fifth highest international student population.
Rivers State, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, has assured members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) of his administration’s commitment to supporting and strengthening the scheme in the State.
Fubara gave the assurance last Friday at the NYSC permanent orientation camp, Nonwa-Gbam, Tai Local Government Area in the State, during the swearing-in ceremony of 2026 Batch B Stream II orientation course.
Represented by the Permanent Secretary, Cabinet Bureau, Office of the Secretary to the State Government, Dr. Promise Oguzie, the governor said the State Government would remain intentional in providing the necessary support to improve the NYSC scheme and enhance the experiences of corps members deployed to the state.
He charged the corps members to be role models and quality nation-builders in their service to the good people of Rivers State in particular, and Nigeria at large.
“I charge you to be exemplary, dedicated and committed in all you do. Take full advantage of all the camp programmes and activities to enrich yourselves”, he said.
In his welcome address, the State Coordinator of NYSC in Rivers State, Mr. Moses Oleghe, urged corps members to see their deployment to Rivers State as a “veritable opportunity to make meaningful contribution to the growth of the State in particular and Nigeria at large.”
He further charged them to serve with all sense of “integrity, discipline, and the fear of God, especially when they will be engaged as INEC ad-hoc staff that will conduct the 2027 general elections.”
A total of 3,584 corps members composed of 1,421 males and 2,163 females were sworn in by the Chief Judge of Rivers State, who was represented by Justice Godspower Aguma.
Governor of Rivers State, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, says Nigeria needs God-fearing leaders for the nation to move in the right direction and make meaningful progress.
The Governor stated this yesterday when he received in audience, the World President of the Seventh Day Adventist Church, Pastor Erton Kohler; his wife, Andriene Marques Kohler; daughter Mariana Marques Kohler and a retinue of ministers of the church at Government House, Port Harcourt.
Fubara who hailed the Seventh Day Adventist Church for its contributions to education and the grooming of future leaders in Nigeria, expressed delight that the Church had over the years, been investing in education at various levels and currently runs two universities in the country.
He commended the church for not only using its institutions to spread the gospel of Christianity but to groom future leaders for the country.
According to him, religion should not be just about defending one’s faith, but also making meaningful impact on the lives of the people.
He said that by floating these educational institutions, the church has demonstrated capacity to support Nigeria in the task of producing not only educated people but a breed of God-fearing leaders.
“Our country is where it is today because we lack the fear of God. If you have the fear of God, there should be a limit to what you can do because you understand the supremacy of God. But when God is not in your equation, you’ll go beyond the line and that is what has brought us to where we are today.
“So, I feel very happy that you are contributing to the development of our future leaders in this country. We need the right people being in the right place; prepared properly with good minds; that is what we need, not just in Nigeria but round the whole world.,” he said.
Governor Fubara further observed that the absence of God-fearing people in high places to take the right decisions that could impact positively on the society, has also given rise to other problems such as social inequality, poverty, corruption and criminality. According to him, Nigeria needs a system where the average parent could afford quality education for their children and a guarantee that upon graduation, the average child will have the capacity to compete favourably with anybody, anywhere in the world.
“If we have a situation where the little money that you’re being paid as wage can also afford you quality healthcare and after working at least for 15-20 years, you have a roof over your head, tell me why you should be involved in any kind of crime? At that point, you’ll feel secured and this attitude of insecurity about the future that leads to all the social vices we have today won’t be there,” he said.
Governor Fubara expressed appreciation to the delegation for the visit and for their prayers for Rivers State, assuring them of his continued support for their programmes in the state.
Leader of the delegation and World President of the Seventh Day Adventist Church, Pastor Erton Kohler said he was in Nigeria for a special conference of the church during which thousands of the church’s ministers will be undergoing an empowerment programme to further equip them for the task of herding their flocks and serving the society.
He expressed gratitude to the Governor for the warm reception accorded his entourage, saying the memory of the visit will linger in his mind for a lifetime.
Kohler disclosed that the Church has over twenty -four million (24,000,000) members and more than 182,000 places of worship, spread across 212 countries of the world.
The Rivers State House of Assembly has approved the 2026–2028 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) submitted by Governor Siminalayi Fubara.
This reaffirms the lawmakers’ commitment to enacting laws and taking legislative actions geared towards the overall development of the State.
The Assembly gave the approval during its Second Legislative Sitting of the Fourth Session held last Friday.
Speaking on the MTEF document during plenary, the House Speaker, Rt. Hon. Martin Amaewhule, noted that by the provision of Section 10(1)(b) of the Rivers State Fiscal Responsibility Law No. 8 of 2010, the MTEF ought to have been laid before the House in September 2025.
Amaewhule explained that traditionally, the document is expected to be presented four months before the commencement of the next financial year and immediately after the expiration of every three-year fiscal cycle.
He, however, stated that in the interest of the State and its people, the House considered it necessary to deliberate on the document, describing it as a precursor to the 2026 Budget Estimates.
The Speaker expressed concern that the year had already progressed significantly before the presentation of the framework.
During deliberations on the document, members examined the assumptions and projections contained in the MTEF and observed that strict adherence to the outlined fiscal parameters would ultimately serve the interest of Rivers people.
The lawmakers maintained that effective implementation of the framework would promote prudent financial management and enhance developmental planning across the State.
Following the debate and positive consideration by members, the Speaker put the question to the House and members voted overwhelmingly in support of the approval of the MTEF.
Meanwhile, during the same sitting last Friday, the House also received a petition from the Chairman of Obio/Akpor Local Government Council, Dr. Gift Worlu.
The petition was presented by the member representing Obio/Akpor Constituency II, Hon. Emilia Amadi.
According to the petition, concerns were raised over an imminent security breach, threats to lives, destruction of property and alleged forceful takeover of property by some lawless persons within parts of the Local Government Area.
Presenting the petition before the House, Hon. Amadi appealed to the lawmakers to revisit the matter and take necessary steps aimed at safeguarding lives and property in the affected communities.
The House is expected to further deliberate on the petition and consider measures to address the concerns raised in order to sustain peace and security in the area.
King Onunwor
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