How Nigerians in Diaspora can strengthen our economy - minister

Minister of state for foreign affairs, Zubairu Dada, has said Nigerians in the Diaspora have the capacity to improve the nation’s economy beyond the yearly remittances to the country if properly harnessed. He stated this in an interview granted to the media team of the Nigerians in the Diaspora Commission ( NIDCOM) led by Gabriel Odu as part of the activities to mark one year anniversary of the agency in Abuja, a statement issued on Tuesday by special assistant on media to the minister, Ibrahim Aliyu, said. Dada said, “With an estimated population of over seventeen million, Nigerians in Diaspora and estimated remittances of over twenty two billion dollars annually Nigerians in Diaspora no doubt have the capacity of improving the nation’s economy if properly harnessed.” He noted that the establishment of NIDCOM by the present administration had clearly shown the commitment of President Muhammadu Buhari to the cause of millions of Nigerians in the Diaspora, saying the agency had come out with so much waves that people began to wonder if it had not existed for more than one year. The minister, who went down memory lane, recalled that before the establishment of NIDCOM, Nigerians in the Diaspora coordinated their activities through the Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation, NIDO, a non -governmental organization, and other several Diaspora organisations all around the globe. But he said with the coming of NIDCOM government has given them a great sense of belonging, the statement added. He commended NIDCOM for recently organising a States Diaspora Focal Point Officers Summit in Abuja where twenty seven states keyed into the programme and appointed their own Focal Persons who will liaise with the agency to champion the cause of millions of Nigerians abroad.