The call for Nigerians in the Diaspora to participate in the voting process in the country has continued to thicken.
The Director General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Zubairu Dada on Sunday became the latest voices to the call has is fast gaining ground.
The Chairman/CEO of the Nigerians in the Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) Abike Dabiri- Erewa is a strong advocate for Nigerians in the Diaspora participation in the country’s voting process.
The issue was in the frontburner at the event to mark the 2021 National Diaspora Day celebration tagged “Diaspora Integration for National Peace and Development” organized by NIDCOM in Abuja yesterday to celebrate the achievements of Nigerians who have contributed immensely to the development of the country.
Okonjo-Iweala who was a special guest at the hybrid occassion posited that the contributions of Nigerians abroad warrant that they should be given the opportunity to decide who will occupy leadership positions in the country.
“Nigerians in the Diaspora must be allowed to vote, they are contributing a lot, and if they are sending over 20 billion as remittances every one why can’t we vote?. Even if we are not sending anything we are still Nigerians and we deserve to vote”, she said.
In his key note address, the Minister of State for Foreign affairs Zubairu Dada, who lauded the efforts of the Nigerians in the Diaspora urged them to do more as the government, is ready to create enabling environment for them to thrive.
He said, “This country belongs to all of us and we must work together to ensure its growth and peace as we all have a role to play. All relevant parties are working to ensure that Diaspora Voting Rights are attained, as we believe that Nigerians in the Diaspora have the same rights and duties as Nigerians who reside in Nigeria and thus should be granted the same opportunity to decide the governance process in the Country. We may not get a perfect output at first but little by little, we would achieve our goals and objectives.’’
He also called on the Nigerians in the Diaspora to deploy their expertise in diverse fields especially in technology to assist in the development of the country.
In her opening remarks Dabiri-Erewa said “As part of the mandate of NiDCOM, the leadership and team of the Commission is putting its best at ensuring that the issue of Diaspora Voting tops the agenda of the current Constitutional Review by the National Assembly, I assure you that both Committees on Diaspora and our Civil Society Organizations are strongly supporting Diaspora Voting to be actualized in Nigeria in the shortest possible time, especially with the contributions of the Nigerians in Diaspora to national development.”
The occasion also marked the presentation of the National Diaspora Policy (NDP) , the framework for the coordination and harnessing of the talents, energies and resources of the Nigerians in the Diaspora for national development.
