Nigeria’s President, Bola Tinubu, has assured that his administration would ramp up efforts to create the enabling environment that would attract more investments from Nigerians in Diaspora and harness their immense talents, skills, expertise, innovation and contacts for national development.
He gave this assurance in his remarks as the special guest of honour at the opening of the 2025 National Diaspora Day (NDD) organised by the Nigerians in the Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) with the theme, “Optimizing Formidable Diaspora Potential For National Development and Growth”, at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa in Abuja, on Friday.
Represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), George Akume, the President acknowledged the enormous contributions of the NIDCOM in terms of remittances, which hit $20.9 billion by 2024 with the promise of more remittances in the years ahead.
“We will continue to provide an enabling platform for effective policies for the Diaspora with the view to galvanizing your support for this administration and concretizing our democracy, optimizing your potential and setting a good example for other African countries to emulate”, he said.
The President commended the Chairman/CEO of NiDCOM, Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa and the management and staff of NiDCOM for their dynamic initiatives, activities and engagements with the Diaspora community, especially in the creation of laudable programmes for Nigerians in Diaspora to invest back home.
“Let me also state that we will look into the Challenges NiDCOM has enumerated with a view to ameliorating the same so that we can maximize the benefits of migration through the engagements with our Diaspora for national development and growth”, the President said.
The highpoint of the occasion was the unveiling of the “Diaspora Home and Abroad Housing Platform”, which will help facilitate easy access to affordable homes.
In her remarks, Hon. Dabiri-Erewa noted that since the establishment of the commission over six years ago, it has vigorously pursued policies and programmes that have given the nation uplift and encouraged Nigerians in the Diaspora to make more investments in the country that are yielding results in different sectors of Nigerian lives.
These programmes include the National Diaspora Day Celebration held annually on 25th and 26th of July and 2025 is the 7th edition. It is an event to celebrate over 20 million Nigerians in the Diaspora and the varied contributions they have made in diverse fields.
NIDCOM initiated the National Diaspora Merit Award to honour those individuals and associations who have contributed to the development of Nigeria and their host country.
It also has the Badagry Door of Return Festival to commemorate the Nigerian descendants from slave trade era and the significance of the ancient Badagry during the period
Other initiatives include: The Diaspora Mortgage scheme, the Diaspora Investment Fund, and the Diaspora Housing Scheme.
The Chairman, Senate Committee on Diaspora and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), Aniekan Bassey, in his remarks emphasized that Nigeria is a veritable home for investment, stressing that it has become necessary for job creation and skill development among the youth.
In her goodwill message, Isabelle Wolfsgruber from the Head Office, International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD), Abuja, said the event is not just a celebration, but a call to action and a recognition that the Nigerian diaspora, among the most dynamic, educated, and resourceful globally, holds boundless untapped potential to contribute meaningfully to national development.
She assured that the ICMPD will partner more with NIDCOM to ensure inclusive migration governance that fully integrates diaspora contributions to national development.
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