The Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM) should have its own budget, apart from the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, according to a request made by the Senate.Victor Umeh, the chairman of the Senate Committee on Diaspora and Non-Governmental Organizations, made the plea on Monday in Abuja during the committee's budget defense report presentation to the Appropriations Committee.
Umeh stated that the necessity of the appeal arose from the significance of NiDCOM to the activities of Nigerians living abroad.
Given that NiDCOM was constituted by a National Assembly legislation, it ought to have a separate budget from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
"There are other agencies with independent budgetary provisions that don't do as much as NiDCOM."
He claimed that Nigerians residing abroad made the greatest contribution to the country's growth, pointing out that in 2022, they sent back to Nigeria a total of 24 billion dollars.
He claimed that even with the large remittances, the commission's budgetary allocation had remained insufficient to meet its needs in carrying out its duty.
Umeh claimed that NiDCOM was underfunded to carry out its responsibilities and that Nigerians who made money overseas had a variety of requirements and difficulties that needed to be attended to.
In order to bring Nigerians together to collaborate with federal and state governments for investments, he claims that funding must also be provided for the organization of Diaspora Investment Summits in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, and other countries.
Umeh stated that this might also support President Bola Tinubu's agenda of revitalized hope.
"The diaspora investment summit holds immense economic significance, given the staggering amount of money sent to Nigeria—24 billion dollars in 2022 alone—which is difficult to measure."
Given the enormous issues the commission faces, the senator from the Labour Party stated that there was an urgent need to enhance NiDCOM's funding allotment.
With the limited budgetary allotment, he added, NiDCOM could not possibly visit other countries to find answers to the problems faced by Nigerians living overseas.
He stated that out of the N2.5 billion that was suggested for the appropriations committee's approval, the committee approved the addition of five new line items, totaling N1 billion.
Sen. Solomon Adeola, the chairman of the appropriations committee, stated that money was genuinely needed for NiDCOM to operate as intended.
He stated that while reporting to the Senate, the committee would take NiDCOM into consideration.