ABUJA – The European Union (EU) has committed 10.84 million Euros on projects to promote better management of migration in Nigeria.
The Acting Chief of Mission of International Office of Migration (IOM), Ms Lily Sanya, disclosed this on Monday in Abuja at the opening of a three-day workshop organised for journalists on migration issues.
Sanya said that the EU funded project, which focuses on projects on regular and irregular migration, was being implemented by her organisation and UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
She said that IOM Nigeria had a funding contribution of over 594,000 Euros to the projects.
According to her, the organisation has collaboration with six government agencies considered as national migration stakeholders to execute some of the projects.
The agencies include the National Bureau of Statistics, National Commission for Refugees, National Population Commission, Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS), Nigerian National Volunteer Service and the Federal Ministry of Labour.
“For instance, in the area of regulating migration, IOM Nigeria provided technical assistance to the NIS on border management through the establishment of an automated passenger registration system,’’ Sanya said.
She said that the organisation had also strengthened its capacity on case handling and data management.
Sanya also told reporters that IOM Nigeria contributed to the development of a draft national policy on migration.
She said that the organisation was engaged in increased mobilisation of Nigerians in the Diaspora, particularly professionals in the health and education sector to spur national development.
“We have created an online portal for Nigerians in the Diaspora to register,’’ she said.
She said that a projected outcome of the IOM interventions in Nigeria was to assist different government agencies dealing with migration and development issues to work together.
Hajiya Hadiza Kangiwa, the Federal Commissioner, National Commission for Refugees, said that migration had been recognised as a powerful vehicle for boosting development in countries.
She expressed optimism that the draft national policy, when approved would provide a unique opportunity for effective and inclusive migration governance.
She announced that her agency had established a Web-based tool for communicating migration information in Nigeria (infopointmigration.org.ng).
She said that the agency was in the process of instituting an annual National Migration Dialogue to ensure that it is prioritised into national post 2015 MDG agenda.
She urged media practitioners to show more interest in migration and development reportage. (NAN)