One of the restrictions set forth by the Egyptian government to permit Nigerians to cross its border has been blamed for the delay in the airlifting of trapped Nigerians at Aswan Airport.
Our reporter received a telegram from Nura Rimi, the Nigerian ambassador to Egypt, on Monday indicating that Egypt has finally approved Nigeria but with certain restrictions.
The statement stated that the following requirements must be met: “Details and timetable of the aircraft; capacity of the aircraft; a solid guarantee that once our citizens cross the border, they will be transported immediately to the specified airport.
“Full list of the evacuees, including passport numbers; valid travel papers (passport or ETC; the presence of Nigerian government representatives at the departure sites. buses on standby that will take them right away to the airport.
In an audio statement on Wednesday afternoon, an official explained the delay: “Two planes, Air Peace and NAF C130, are meant to transport 350 passengers. Sadly, 26 more people managed to smuggle themselves into the buses. There were Egyptian employees, and 376 Nigerians were discovered after counting. They refused to let the 26 individuals return to the airport or be taken back to the border by Nigerian officials.
“They no longer let them return to the border and now want everyone to leave. The aeroplane must be overloaded as the sole choice. After consulting the pilots, it was determined that they could only fly passengers if they had plenty of luggage.
However, our correspondent learned that a solution had been found because the NAF was about to take off at the time this report was filed.
The representative stated, “Air Peace eventually took all the stuff and C130 transported the extra individuals.”
