President Goodluck Jonathan has ordered the immediate evacuation of Nigerians stranded in Libya. Amid criticism that the government has responded slowly to the crisis, Vice President Namadi Sambo said that evacuation plans have commenced in the north African country. Libya has a high number of Nigerians who often use the country as a departure point for Europe.
Mr Sambo said this at the weekly Federal Executive Council meeting which he chaired in the absence of Mr Jonathan who was on a campaign tour.
Briefing journalists after the meeting, the Information Minister, Labaran Maku said the council discussed the situation in Libya and the Middle East and the condition of Nigerians in these countries.
The Foreign Affairs minister, Odein Ajumogobia, who also spoke on the evacuation, said the situation is being monitored by his ministry. He said Nigerians will be evacuated from Libya's biggest cities, Tripoli and Benghazi, but did not go into details about the plans.
"We are in close contact with our envoys," he said. "I want to assure Nigerians that the President is committed to ensuring the safety and security of our citizens. I want to assure you that whatever measures are necessary would be taken to ensure their safety and security." Mr. Ajumogobia also said our diplomats in the country have since evacuated their families as is the custom so that they can concentrate on the work at hand.
Not in Nigeria
On whether the government is afraid that similar protests like the ones in the Middle East might take place in Nigeria, the minister noted that though Nigeria has its own challenges, the president has already put in place measures to address these problems.
"One of the major challenges we have in our country is power," he said.
"Small and medium enterprises, agriculture, water resources cannot be mobilised without power. The fact that President Jonathan has taken firm control of power as his key sector is an indication of his serious commitment and determination to overcome this challenge."
The minister said public uprising of that nature is unlikely in Nigeria.
"The difference between Nigeria and those countries is that this country today is run on constitutional order where the tenure of office of leaders is fixed," he said.
"Nigeria is probably the only country in Africa today that has the largest number of former leaders alive. So our country has lessons that these countries can learn from."
Lack of information
No official figures have so far been given on the number of stranded Nigerians in Libya. A visit to the website of the Nigerian Embassy in Libya did not yield any information on this nor did any details about the evacuation plans.
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