The House of Representatives has informed of its readiness to urgently remove all bureaucratic bottlenecks and obstacles hindering the effective patriotic contributions from Nigerians resident abroad through a legislative framework.
The lawmakers also disclosed their commitment to ensure immediate passage of bills to allow Nigerians living abroad to exercise their civil right through voting.
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Tajudeen Abbas, disclosed this yesterday while declaring open a Stakeholders Engagement on Diaspora Governance (NiSDEDIG 2025) at the National Assembly Complex, Abuja.
Represented at the occasion by the Chairman House of Representatives Committee on Health Institution, Hon Patrick Umoh, Abbas further pledged his readiness to strengthen all legislative diplomacy with Nigerians living abroad.
The event, which was organised by the House of Representatives Committee on Diaspora, also witnessed the launching of NiDRES Application/Web App under the theme: ‘Legislative-executive partnership in diaspora governance- harmonising working.’
In his welcome remarks, the Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Diaspora, Hon. Tochukwu Okere, used the opportunity to reaffirm the National Assembly’s commitment to strengthening Nigeria’s diaspora governance framework.
The event was well attended by key stakeholders which cut across the legislature, executive, diplomatic corps as well as Diaspora organisations worldwide.
Speaking further, the lawmaker informed that the event was designed to align laws, policies along with institutional actions for better coordination of diaspora affairs even as he also ensured improved access to welfare, consular, and investment services for Nigerians living abroad.
Highlighting key innovations of the project, the Chairman equally announced the launch of the Nigerians in Diaspora Response App/Web (NiDRes) which is a digital platform aimed at connecting the government more effectively with Nigerian citizens abroad.
The tool, he informed, will enable seamless incident reporting and case tracking, emergency assistance, including investment engagement through a secure and user-friendly interface.
The chairman, therefore, called on all key stakeholders present and absent at the forum to contribute ideas and solutions that will strengthen diaspora participation in national development while pledging his committee’s readiness to NiDCOM in fostering a results-oriented partnership between the legislature and the executive for the benefit of Nigerians at home, as well as those in overseas.
In her welcome address, the Chairman/CEO of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, reaffirmed her commission’s pivotal role as the interface between Nigeria and its diaspora community even as she used the occasion to highlight remarkable achievements of her agency under her stewardship.
Dabiri-Erewa also commended the committee for it effort in sustaining legislative interest in diaspora governance noting that Nigeria has over 20 million citizens abroad who are not just remitting funds home but are also contributing to national development across key sectors such as health, education, ICT, agriculture, housing among others.
“The Nigerian diaspora continues to excel globally while investing their knowledge and resources to drive the country’s growth and modernisation,” she said.
The former lawmaker also listed the National Diaspora Policy which she explained is Diaspora Data Mapping Portal with over 70,000 registrants worldwide, the Nigeria Diaspora Investment Summit, as well as the Presidential Town Hall Meetings as major milestones.
She, however, maintained that diaspora remittances remain the nation’s highest source of foreign exchange, maintaining that Nigerians abroad are contributing over $20 billion annually, more than oil revenues even as stressing disclosed that such huge revenue has helped in sustaining millions of livelihoods.
In her concluding remarks, Dabiri-Erewa stressed that NiDCOM’s mission is transforming the former narrative of ‘brain drain’ into ‘brain gain,’ with the diaspora community currently emerging as a strong pillar of Nigeria’s socio-economic renewal.