The Chairman of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, has revealed that remittances from Nigerians living abroad have exceeded $90 billion over the last five years.
She pointed out that in December 2024 alone, remittances reached at least N60 billion, indicating a strong potential for future growth and underscoring the diaspora's crucial contribution to Nigeria's development.
Dabiri-Erewa shared these insights on Thursday while presenting the commission's 2025 budget to the National Assembly Joint Committee on Diaspora.
Additionally, she encouraged Nigerians overseas to play a role in enhancing the country's image, emphasizing that there is a growing global interest in forming friendships with Nigerians.
Dabiri-Erewa stated, “We’ve reached a stage where the diaspora has proven to be a powerful resource, and we cannot ignore them. They are the number one ambassadors of our country. They will help us change the narrative of Nigeria. In fact, all over the world, everyone now wants to have a Nigerian as a friend. Let’s seize this moment. We can take over the world, and we will.”
She commended President Bola Tinubu's implementation of reforms designed to address insecurity, develop infrastructure, and enhance Nigeria's overall conditions, advocating for broad-based support of these initiatives.
“We have 17 million Nigerians abroad. How much has this contributed to the growth of the economy? In the last five years, remittances alone have exceeded $90 billion. In December, the amount spent coming to Nigeria was not less than N60 billion. This could grow, but we are just scratching the surface,” she added.
In December 2024, the Central Bank of Nigeria announced that remittances from the diaspora, facilitated by International Money Transfer Operators, totaled $4.22 billion from January to October 2024. This amount is almost double the $2.62 billion reported for the same timeframe in 2023.
The Chairman of NiDCOM also shared insights from her December 2024 discussions with various Nigerian expatriates focused on business and human development, highlighting the wealth of opportunities that lie ahead.
“I hosted many Nigerians in December. My house turned into a hosting venue. These young Nigerians have money to invest, and they are eager to do so. Some are engaging in local businesses. One of the most impressive projects we’re working on involves training young people in digital technology.”
“We haven’t formalised this yet, but we will this year, so we can fully appreciate what the diaspora has done,” she concluded.
In his remarks, Senator Victor Umeh, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Diaspora, advised that the issue of diaspora voting be postponed until all necessary preparations are in place. He stressed the need to first improve the elections in Nigeria before allowing diaspora participation.
“It’s a question I addressed in Canada and South Africa, where I met Nigerians. We must get properly organised before we open up voting to people abroad. Let’s first manage elections at home before adding diaspora voting.”
Umeh stated that NiDCOM is working diligently to gather precise data on Nigerians residing overseas to guarantee dependable voting information in the future.
“Once we have reliable data, we can allow diaspora voting. But we need to be confident in our systems first,” he said.
Umeh further urged President Tinubu to focus on NiDCOM, assuring that the National Assembly would allocate additional funding for the diaspora organization.
NiDCOM has commended the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Olayemi Cardoso, for launching two financial initiatives: the Non-Resident Nigerian Ordinary Account and the Non-Resident Nigerian Investment Account.