Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has assured Nigerians that the ministry will come up with a comprehensive review of migration and visa policies with the support of key stakeholders in the country aimed at easing all the processes for Nigerians both home and abroad in tune with global standard.
The Minister made the remarks on Tuesday in Abuja, when he hosted the Chairman of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), Abike Dabiri-Erewa, who led the Commission’s management team on a courtesy visit.
NIDCOM spokesman Abdur-Rahman Balogun confirmed this in a statement.
According to the statement, the minister is concerned about the lopsidedness of various migration and visa regulations that make Nigeria a dumping ground.
It added that Minister said that the review will take cognisance of the principle of reciprocity in line with international standards.
Tunji-Ojo applauded the efforts of the Commission through the proactive nature of the Chairman, saying NIDCOM has more to offer in the area of welfare for Nigerians in the Diaspora and creating positive image for the country abroad.
The Minister, however, shared his concerns about the general challenges with passport processing, capturing and collection, assuring that everything possible will be done to make the process more efficient.
Earlier, Dabiri-Erewa commended the dynamism brought in by the Minister of Interior in the improvement on issuance of passport to Nigerians both home and abroad.
She advocated for more effective passport capturing and collection process for Nigerians living abroad.
Dabiri-Erewa, who solicited for a working collaboration with the Ministry while rolling out some of the activities of the Commission since inception.
She listed data mapping of Nigerians in the Diaspora to know the actual number of Nigerians living there, improvement in diaspora remittances, creating diaspora focal persons, holding annually diaspora day on July 25, Badagry Door of Return, Diaspora Quarterly lecture series, National Diaspora Investment Summit, Diaspora Investment Trust Fund and many interventionist programmes for the welfare of Nigerians.
The NIDCOM boss said there is urgent need for collaboration and creation of a structural platform to address complex diaspora issues that require coordinated efforts from various Ministries, Departments and Agencies.