The administration of Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State has evacuated 135 indigenes of the state studying in UNIJOS.
Special Adviser to Governor Ugwuanyi on Students Affairs, Chidi Ilogebe, in a statement said 37 evacuated students returned safely to Enugu yesterday, while 28 were conveyed to Abuja to join their family, and others taken to their various homes within Plateau and surrounding areas based on their requests, amid tight security.
Ugwuanyi, in the wake of the Jos crisis, had directed Ilogebe to take immediate steps to ensure that Enugu students in UNIJOS were evacuated from the school to their various states of residence for safety.
Describing Ugwuanyi as “a welfarist and proactive leader,” Ilogede said he led a delegation to receive the students from UNIJOS who returned to Enugu at about 10pm yesterday.
One of the students, Anthony Onah, a 200 level student of History and International Studies, expressed gratitude to Governor Ugwuanyi for his pro-activeness, concern and commitment to the welfare, safety and security of indigenes of the state irrespective of where they reside.
“We say a big thank you to our governor and his SA on Students Affairs for their support and immediate action which didn’t just help in evacuating us, but it spurred some other states to evacuate their students too. The Association of Enugu State Students in UNIJOS is proud of Ugwuanyi for the fatherly role you played,” Onah said.
Also speaking, Olivia Nebeokike, a 300 level student of Marketing, pointed out that she was dumbfounded at the governor’s gesture, stressing that they couldn’t believe that their state government could come looking for them at the time they were in distress.
“We are amazed and couldn’t believe that the governor could come for us in far away Plateau State. Even the indigenes couldn’t believe it when we told them that our state government is coming for us.”
Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the UNIJOS Students Union Government (SUG), Ebenezer Iloadinma, an indigene Enugu State, on behalf of the beneficiaries, equally thanked Governor Ugwuanyi for his humanitarian gesture, saying: “We want to say a very big thank you to the governor of Enugu State, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, for making provision for these vehicles to evacuate us from Jos.”