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A whopping N60 billion was spent by Nigerians living abroad during their visits to the country in December 2024, the Chairman of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), Mrs. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, has disclosed.
Dabiri-Erewa highlighted the significant economic impact of Nigerians living abroad.
According to her, remittances from the diaspora community have surpassed $90 billion in the last five years alone.
This substantial financial contribution demonstrates the growing influence of the diaspora on Nigeria’s economy.
Dabiri-Erewa shared these insights while defending NIDCOM’s 2025 budget before the National Assembly Joint Committee on Diaspora, commending the diaspora community’s increasing interest in investing in and contributing to Nigeria’s development.
Persecondnews reports that under Dabiri-Erewa’s leadership, NIDCOM has made notable progress over the past five years by adopting innovative approaches and prioritizing the needs of the diaspora population.
The NIDCOM boss said: “You know, we have reached a stage where in the last five years, we’ve shown that the diaspora is a powerful force, resource and we cannot ignore them.
“You know they are the number one ambassadors of our country and they will help us change the narrative of our country. In fact, all over the world, everybody now wants to have a Nigerian as a friend. So let’s seize the moment. We can take over the world and we will.
“President Bola Tinubu has brought in reforms that everybody should support; tackling insecurity, building infrastructure, taking the hard decisions that will make Nigeria a better place. So it’s very simple.
“We have 17 million of them. And how much did this generate for the growth of the economy? Remittances alone in the last five years have been over $90 billion. This December, of course, you know, it is not less than N60 billion in what they spent coming to Nigeria. It could grow but it is just scratching the surface.”
Dabiri-Erewa observed that the influx of diaspora Nigerians in December 2024 was the result of years of consistent interaction and engagement with the community.
She said the commission was exploring innovative funding strategies, including working with the National Assembly committee on Diaspora to enhance its financial capacity.
Dabiri-Erewa also suggested the establishment of a Diaspora Plaza that would serve as a hub for Nigerians abroad to connect, engage with government officials, and learn about opportunities within the country.
“I hosted them. In fact, I didn’t rest in December. My house turned into a hosting venue because they were all coming. Those young Nigerians have money to invest and they are willing to.
“Some of them are getting into local communities, local businesses. Even now, the most impressive one that we worked with, they want to start training young people in digital technology.
“What we haven’t done which we will do this year is put it in a document. So, we can truly appreciate what the diaspora has done, ” she said.
In an interview with newsmen, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Diaspora, Sen. Victor Umeh, expressed reservations about Nigeria’s readiness for diaspora voting.
Umeh, representing Anambra Central, said Nigeria must first tackle the challenges confronting its electoral process before thinking of extending such rights to Nigerians in Diaspora.
He warned that allowing Nigerians in the diaspora to vote without reliable data and systems in place could have grave consequences.
“It is a question I answered both in Canada and South Africa where I met Nigerians there. We must tell ourselves the truth. We must get properly organised before we open up to people voting from outside Nigeria. Let’s us manage our own elections at home first before we add diaspora voting.
“Yes, we are preparing for it but I’m saying that we need to put the enabling environment for it to succeed. The NIDCOM is doing everything possible to capture Nigerians in the diaspora to know how many of them are living outside and then document them, those in America, in Europe, Africa, in Asia and so on.
“We need to know where they are, so that the data will be reliable before you expose them to elections.
“If you are not prepared with your data that is reliable, you can finish all the elections in Nigeria, and you say, I’m waiting for votes that will come from America. Somebody will throw three million votes from there or from Asia before you know it, the courts will not have peace.
“Then you continue to struggle to prove those votes. However, gradually, when we get to that level of confidence, we can give them an opportunity to start voting from outside.”
Umeh, while stressing the need to support NIDCOM financially to enable it to continue engaging the diaspora effectively, assured that the committee will fight for an increase in funds for the commission in the 2025 budget.
The senator said the diaspora community is important to Nigeria and added that those living abroad are exposed to advanced cultures and more efficient ways of doing things.
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