Senate President Sen. Ahmed Lawan has assured of the Assembly’s commitment to the welfare and well-being of Nigerians living anywhere in the Diaspora, according to a statement signed by Mr Gabriel Odu, the Media, Public Relations and Protocol Officer of the Nigerians in the Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM).
The statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) quoted Lawan as saying this at the official presentation of a compendium entitled, ” +600 Diaspora icons at 60″ by Hon Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Chairman/CEO of NiDCOM and management staff of the commission in Abuja.
The senate president commended the doggedness, passion and determination of the NIDCOM CEO in bringing diaspora issues to the front burner right from her days in the Parliament and now as Chairman/CEO, NiDCOM.
On Diaspora voting, Lawan expressed optimism that Nigerians anywhere in the world would soon freely exercise their franchise once INEC was through with the bill.
”This position was corroborated by the Deputy Senate President, Sen. Ovie Omo-Agege, who emphasised that the National Assembly was working with INEC to put all mechanisms that would ensure that Nigerians anywhere in the world exercised their freedom to vote,” the statement said.
He gave the assurance that the 9th Senate was the Senate that ensures all people-centred Bills were considered and passed, promising to support NiDCOM in its onerous task of engaging with the Diaspora, especially with the adoption and ratification of the National Diaspora Policy in tandem with Nigeria’s Foreign Policy.
Presenting the compendium, NiDCOM’s chair, Dabiri-Erewa, said it was a compilation of extraordinary and exceptional exploits of Nigerians in the Diaspora in different sectors, though the list was non exhaustive.
Dabiri-Erewa further said that NiDCOM was primarily building trust with the Nigerian Diaspora global community to fast track investments back home through various Programmes, adding that the National Diaspora Investment Summit had attracted over 300 Nigerians to invest in different sectors of the economy.
Other Programmes of the Commission, she added, included Diaspora door of return, Diaspora data mapping, Diaspora portal mechanism, Diaspora lecture series, Annual National Diaspora Day, and appointment of 33 Diaspora focal point officers across the States, among others.
