The Diaspora remittance has reduced by 20% last year as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Chairman, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM) has said.
The country has an estimated demography of about 17 million Nigerians living outside the sovereign boundaries of Nigeria, sending home remittances of about $25 billion US dollars annually.
These home remittances are over 83 per cent of the National budget and 6.1 per cent of the Nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
According to The World Bank and Price Water Coopers (PWC), these home remittances serve as economic buffers and safety nets to families for: school fees, feeding, hospital bills and many other social support systems.
Thirty Percent of the remittances are channeled into investments including real estate, commercial businesses and others.
Dabiri-Erewa who spoke in Abuja ahead of this weekend’s Diaspora Day celebration slated for 25th July 2021 said the commission is working to make the diasporans investment factor; stressing that by their mere remittance of funds to the country they are already an economic factor.
“We keep saying Foreign Direct Investment, I am looking at a situation where we would be saying Diaspora Direct Investment,” she added.
She also revealed that efforts are on to also target the second and third generation of diaspora who are already making waves under the programme “Home String” .
On the question on diaspora voting: she said what the commission wants from the National Assembly is to amend the electoral law to empower the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct diaspora voting.
“What we are asking the National Assembly to do is to just make it possible for INEC to be able to conduct diaspora voting. so INEC will decide when it’s ready. we can’t keep amending the constitution every year. so we are appealing to them to just give INEC the power. INEC will decide okay may be it’s one country we will do this year or may be a particular class of people, the mode should be decided by INEC. and INEC has said yes we are ready.
“So we are just appealing to the National Assembly, it is not the National Assembly that will conduct the elections, it is INEC. so make it possible forINEC to come up with necessary arrangements for diaspora voting. I am not saying it will happen in 2023 but it has to happen sometime. So that is the stage we are at with the Senate now, so they have written to us and INEC for further clarification. so it is just to put that amendment in such a way that diaspora voting can take place when INEC feels that the infrastructure is ready.”
On the National Diaspora Day 2021 Celebration with the theme: “DIASPORA INTEGRATION FOR NATIONAL PEACE AND DEVELOPMENT “, NIDCOM boss said “The idea is to anchor on the levers of peace to accelerate Diaspora engagement for national growth and development as no nation succeeds in an atmosphere anchored on insecurity as well as hatred and divisive tendencies.”
She also noted that the celebration which will be hybrid will be celebrated again via a Webinar, with President Muhammadu Buhari addressing the Nigerians in the Diaspora at the event. Other dignitaries are also expected to address the diasporans.
