The Nigerians trapped in Wuhan, China, where Coronavirus originated from have raised the alarm that their lives are in danger.
This comes as Coronavirus cases in China rose to 24,324.
The Nigerian Students Association in Wuhan on Wednesday asked the Federal Government to urgently evacuate the 60 Nigerians in the city.
The House of Representatives had already resolved that Nigerians in Wuhan would not be evacuated.
According to the lawmakers who voted against the motion raised by spokesman for the House, Benjamin Okezie, China has better facilities to handle the virus than Nigeria.
But the NSAW said in a letter addressed to the Nigerian Ambassador to China, Ahmad Jidda, that the Nigerian nationals comprising 52 adults and eight children were at risk of contracting the disease, which has so far claimed 490 lives.
In the letter which was also sent to the Chairman, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, the association called for urgent evacuation of the stranded Nigerians in the Asian nation.
The letter dated February 5, 2020 was signed by the acting NSAW President, Okoye Chiamaka, and Secretary-General, Vandi Kamaunji, respectively.
The group stated that they had earlier received a report from the NIDCOM chairman on Monday through the President of the Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation in China, asking about the welfare of Nigerians in China.
The association said it sent a letter dated February 4 requesting financial support for the 60 Nigerians in Wuhan.
The letter read, “Before the request, we submitted a letter to the chairman of NIDCOM dated January 29 as well as the embassy dated January 31 on the need for an urgent evacuation of Nigerians from Wuhan as the situation is quite worrisome and the lives of 60 Nigerians including eight children is at stake.”
Meanwhile, China’s National Health Commission said it had received 24,324 reports of confirmed cases and 490 deaths on the Chinese mainland.
It said 892 patients had been cured and discharged from the hospital, adding that there still remained 23,260 suspected cases.
The Press Officer, Embassy of China in Nigeria, Sun Saixiong, said, “So far, 185,555 are now under medical observation, who have been identified as having had close contact with infected patients.”
Source: PunchNG
