Mrs Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Chairman/CEO Nigerians in the Diaspora Commision (NiDCOM) said on Thursday that it was a link for diaspora engagement with Ministries, Department and Agencies (MDAs) in the country.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Dabiri-Erewa made this known while giving a lecture at the National Defence College in Abuja.
The National Diaspora Policy 2021 in Perspective was the focus of the lecture and the NiDCOM chief spoke on ‘Policy Formation and The Implementation of Practical Experience of Diaspora Contributions to the Country’.
The NiDCOM Chairman stated that the National Diaspora Policy was a holistic and integrated document that supported the framework for maximising the value of diaspora contributions to national development.
She added that it involved the active participation of all stakeholders so as to decentralise diaspora contributions to every sector of the economy.
Dabiri-Erewa said: “Ours in NiDCOM is to guide the diaspora and link them up with required agencies, while ensuring an enabling environment for them to participate fully in national development.”
Dabiri-Erewa further shared practical experience of the formulation and Implementation of the National Diaspora Policy and raised the challenges and progress of the implementation of the policy to include:
“Inadequate data on Nigerians in the diaspora, high cost of remittances and pooling of funds from the diaspora for targeted Foreign Direct Investments, among others.”
Dabiri-Erewa added that part of the progress included: The approval of The Nigeria Diaspora Investment Trust Fund (NDITF) by President Muhammadu Buhari, establishment of the Diaspora Data Mapping Portal by the commission and others.
Rear Admiral Murtala Bashir, the Commandant, National Defence College, appreciated Dabiri-Erewa as the guest lecturer and the quality service she was rendering to the nation.
“Although the policy is at an infant stage, I can proudly say we are better informed on policy formation and implementation with the practical experience you have just shared,” Bashir said.
The commandant urged the participants to make value out of the knowledge shared as it perfectly aligned with the objectives of the course.
The NDC Course 31 had in attendance 115 participants with 21 of them from 20 countries across Africa and Asia.
(NAN)