2011: Nigerians Abroad ’ll Vote –INEC

Representative of Nigeria’s Acting President, Chief J.Turner (right) and Rivers State Governor, Rt Hon Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, perusing a document, at the funeral service in honour of late Rivers State Commissioner for Employment Generation and Empowerment, Hon Moses Ahubele, at St Barnabas Anglican Church, Abarikpo, Rivers State, last Saturday

Ahead 2011 general elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is set to conduct pilot “Diaspora voting’’ in four countries to enable Nigerians living abroad to have the opportunity of participating in Nigeria’s electoral process.

The INEC Chairman, Prof. Maurice Iwu, disclosed this in Abuja last Saturday while addressing stakeholders on the electoral process.

He said that the commission had concluded plans to conduct elections in four English-speaking countries, including Britain and the United State of America.

“On Diaspora voting, all we need to do is to amend Section 77(2) of the constitution just to remove one clause that says only Nigerians resident in Nigeria can register for an election, not even vote. If we do that, that would be okay.

“We chose Britain and others for the pilot project because these are countries where we have many Nigerians and there would be no language problems,’’ Iwu said.

Responding to the move, Rep. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, the Chairman, House of Representatives’ Committee on Diaspora Affairs, said that the decision was apt because of the contributions of Nigerians living abroad to the country’s development.

Dabiri-Erewa said that with an annual remittance of 11 billion U.S. dollars, Nigerians in the Diaspora were capable of mobilising substantial investments and development capital for Nigeria.

She said that the committee was sponsoring the Diaspora Commission Bill, with a view to unleashing the force of technological, socio-political, scientific and innovative power in Nigeria through the mobilisation of the intellectual and creative energies of Nigerian professionals overseas.

Dabiri-Erewa noted that 15 countries had full Diaspora ministries dedicated solely to Diaspora affairs, while about 10 countries had Diaspora institutions dealing with Diaspora matters.

She stressed the need for a central organisation that would deal with all matters concerning the best Diaspora practices, while coordinating Diaspora programmes in a systematic manner.

“Right now in Nigeria, the various departments and agencies dealing with Diaspora issues are fragmented. Therefore, it is desirable to have a central body where Diaspora issues can be systematically and adequately addressed,’’ she said.

The bill, sponsored by Dabiri-Erewa and 16 other lawmakers, has seven clauses, 23 sections and has gone through the second reading in the House of Representatives.

The bill seeks to establish Nigerians in Diaspora (Establishment) Commission, while facilitating the engagement of Nigerians living abroad in the policies, programmes and projects aimed at engendering Nigeria’s development.

The bill also intends to pool the human capital and material resources of Nigerians living abroad and use them for the socio-economic, cultural and political development of Nigeria.

More than 17.5 million Nigerians are currently living abroad, with over three million of them residing in the United States of America.