In a bid to meet its obligations to Nigerian citizens in foreign countries, the Nigerian Senate has canvassed for the upgrade of the Nigerian in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) to a full fledged Ministry.
Indeed, the Senate committee on Diaspora and Non governmental Organisations on Thursday made the call during an interactive session with the officials of the NIDCOM, led by its Chairman, Mrs. Abike Dabiri-Erewa.
The NIDCOM boss had earlier bemoaned that poor funding of the agency has made it difficult to meet its mandate.
She explained that her office was finding it difficult to help some Nigerian in critical situation in foreign lands because there were no provision for foreign trips for her officials.
“Our capital budget is N47 million, but the job is being done because I have been trained not to complain. How will there be no subhead for traveling for diaspora commission, she asked?
“A lot of time we received people at the airport without funds. We just get collaboration but money don’t come to us.
“We have been approaching CBN for the taxes of remittances, that is where we get commission, but the CBN is not giving us. We have a desk in Abuja and Lagos airport for the diaspora commission,” Dabiri said.
She added that they are worried about bad eggs outside the country insisting that the problem is not the passport but the behavior of the people.
The Chairman also said government had yet to reimburse her for the three trips she recently embarked upon on behalf of Nigeria.
“It is in the act that we should have five diasporan offices, but we don’t have money. It’s in the act but we don’t have money.
“Some diasporan help us out when we travel. The diasporea is the most important thing for Nigeria right now and I can tell you that we havent even engaged 10 percent of our diaspora.
“What we always do is that we have been using technology. We plead to the National Assembly to assist us so that we could have continental offices so that we would be able to have direct access to Nigerians in the Disapora.
“Our inability to have offices abroad is not allowing us to engage 10 per cent of Nigerians in the Diaspora.”
Meanwhile the committtee noted that the responsibilities placed on the NIDCOM was more than what an agency could handle.
Members of the panel also suggested that the Technical Aids Corps should be under the direct supervision of NIDCOM.
Specifically, the Chairman of the committtee, Senator Michael Nnachi, asked the Legal department of NIDCOM to liaise with the National Assembly with a view to amending the Act that established it.
“There is the need to upgrade NIDCOM to a full-flegded ministry. The legal department should start work towards the review of the Act.
“The National Assembly is ready to support and work with you to make your agency a full-fledged ministry.
“That would enable you to have adequate funding to sustain you and empower the agency to carry out it’s mandate.
“We believe that your agency has a lot of responsibilities to the Nigerian in the Diaspora. We need to encourage them to come and invest here” he said.
