Abuja – The Presidency will partner with the National Assembly on a new policy to cater for the needs and inclusiveness of Nigerians in the Diaspora, Mrs Abike Dabiri said.
Dabiri is the Senior Special Adviser (SSA) to President Buhari on Diaspora Matters.
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She made the remark on Tuesday in Abuja when she led a delegation on a visit the Chairman, Senate Committee on Diaspora, Sen. Rose Oko.
She said that the potentialities of Nigerians in the diaspora could not be effectively harnessed without a policy on diaspora and a Commission to carter for Nigerians in the Diaspora.
She said: “we must have a Diaspora Policy; Nigeria does not have Diaspora policy, so the first thing we would be doing is crafting a Diaspora policy.
“We will be working with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the House and Senate Committees on Diaspora to craft the policy on Diaspora matters.
“This policy will be like a crust for every other thing that we are going to do and work on that will start very soon.
“We are going to get every Nigerian in the Diaspora to contribute to the policy.
“Without the policy, we cannot do anything; so it is very critical and of course the Diaspora Commission Bill is also very critical.”
She recalled that the Bill to create a Diaspora Commission was passed by the 7th Assembly but was not assented to and the 8th National Assembly to revisit the bill.
Dabiri stressed the need for Nigeria to have a database of its citizens in the Diaspora to enable the country tap from the knowledge and potentials they possess.
She explained that the nation might be ignoring an untapped resource by not accommodating its citizens in the Diaspora.
“There is no better time to have Nigerians in Nigeria and Nigerians in Diaspora collaborating to get the best for Nigeria.
“The issue of Diaspora voting is also important but that will depend on the National Assembly if they decide to amend the constitution to make this possible.
“Perhaps the economic survival of Nigeria could depend a lot on Nigerians in the Diaspora; if they are able to remit N21 billion in 2014 they can be able to do more.
“President Buhari is willing that is why for the first time he has an SSA on Diaspora; we have a committee in the Senate, we have a committee in the House.
“We have committed Nigerians in the Diaspora, who are contributing to the World economy, so we have no excuse not to tap into this enormous human resource.
“Because of its importance, 26 countries have formed ministries for the Diaspora, we should not let other countries beat us to it because ours is part of the largest population,” she said.
Responding, Oko said that the Senate was committed to passing the bill establishing the Diaspora Commission, adding that the bill had already scaled first reading in the red chamber.
She said that the Senate was already looking at all the key areas that the SSA mentioned, adding that any part that required the intervention of the Senate would be immediately addressed.
“We will work with you and also with Nigerians in the Diaspora to look at how we can get Foreign Direct Investments from Nigerians in the Diaspora.
“The issue of Diaspora commission will be addressed by this Senate; we would also look at the policy on Diaspora and make our contributions too.”
She urged Nigerians in the Diaspora to be worthy ambassadors of Nigeria.
Oko warned that Nigeria would not stick its neck out for any Nigerian who disobeyed the laws of the country of residence. (NAN)