The planned evacuation of 200 Nigerians from Canada has been canceled by the federal government.
The 200 persons were scheduled for evacuation on Wednesday, May 13, 2020, but a report from The Nation reveals that the move has been canceled following the announcement that subsequent evacuation of stranded Nigerians abroad would be staggered due to lack of accommodation for the mandatory 14-day isolation for the returnees.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Geoffrey Onyeama had on Monday stated that the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 had reached its saturation point after the evacuation of 678 Nigerians from the United Arab Emirate (UAE), the United Kingdom, and the United States in the past one week.
Onyeama added that further airlifting would have to wait until the current returnees in isolation were given the leave to go.
He disclosed that the accommodation available to PTF was 600, coupled with medical advice not to overstretch the personnel at the isolation facilities.
Owing to the above, the federal government made the announcement that the airlifting of Nigerians from Canada has been canceled, with a new date to be revealed at a later time.
The cancelation was confirmed by the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Ferdinald Nwoye who said, “The planned evacuation has been canceled with no new date to announced.”