The Chairman/CEO, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, has urged participants at the ongoing International conference on Migration to strengthen regular migration pathways to enhance labour mobility.

Dabiri-Erewa said this in her keynote address as well as a panelist at the Rabat Process (Euro-African Dialogue on Migration and Development) Thematic Meeting under Nigeria’s chairmanship.

It had the theme: “Youth, Education and Innovation: Driving the Future of Migration.”

The NiDCOM boss stressed that the government’s efforts should be consolidated in the sensitisation and education of the general public on the available opportunities backed by laws in the migration space to further galvanise support for combating irregular migration and the dangers attached to it.

Highlighting the positive impact of Diaspora engagement, she pointed out that the over 20 million Nigerians in the diaspora are a major component of the overall development and thus are an economic force that cannot be ignored.

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According to her, Nigerians abroad remitted about $20 billion to Nigeria last year, which equates to a contribution of about 5.7 percent of the GDP of Nigeria and 11 times the FDI for the year.

Dabiri-Erewa stressed on the need to include youths in all aspects of policy decision and implementation of migration issues as they can bring their expertise, skills, and knowledge to bear, noting that NiDCOM has put in place dedicated programmes for diaspora youth under the home strings category.

The Euro-African Dialogue on Migration and Development is a multi-stakeholder dialogue between European and African countries on migration.

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