Reps to probe diaspora remittance figures, economic input

The House of Representatives said it will ascertain the actual figures Nigerians in Diaspora remit to the country and how they have contributed to the economy.

The House mandated its committee on Diaspora, Banking and Currency as well as the National Planning and Economic development to liaise with all relevant agencies including the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to ascertain the figures.

This follows deliberations on a Motion moved by Tolulope Akande-Sodipe on the floor of the House on Wednesday for a “Need to Ascertain Nigeria In Diaspora Remittances and its Impact of the Nation’s Economy”

She argued that, reports by the World Bank and other bodies have disclosed that, Nigeria accounts for over a third of migrant remittance inflows to Sub-Saharan Africa which was estimated at $23.63 billion in 2018.

She said the represented 6.1 of Nigeria’s GDP amount percent which translated to 83 percent of Federal Government’s budget in 2018 and 11 times the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) flows and seven times larger than all the foreign aid received by the country within the period.

She added that, it was projected that, the remittance may grow to $25.5bn, $29.8bn and $34.8bn in 2019, 2021 and 2023 respectively and over a 15 years period.

“Since many transactions are unrecorded or take place through informal channels ,the actual amount of remittance flows into the country is arguably higher; as in 2018, diaspora remittance to Nigeria was equal to $25bn, representing 6.1% of the GDP, which also represented 14% year-on-year growth from the $22bn receipt in 2017.

The lawmaker citing the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) report said remittances from the Diaspora rose from $3.24bn in 2013 to approximately $25.08bn in 2018 which she said was a 126% rise in just six years which is about $96.5bn sent to the country.