The chairperson, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCom) Mrs Abike Dabiri-Erewaon has, sought for an amendment to the Act establishing her commission.
She made the call while defending the commission’s 2023 budget estimate before the Senate Committee on Diaspora and Non-Governmental Organisations held at the National Assembly Complex, Abuja.
Dabiri-Erewa lamented over the inadequate funding of the commission saying that an amendment to the act would enable the commission generate revenue.
“If we are able to amend the law, that will also help because we believe we shouldn’t really be struggling for funds from government.
She said the commission can generate funds if the law is amended to enable it think outside the box for other ways that would aid their operations.
“The agency needs better funding; it is probably one of the most poorly funded and if we have the relevant law amended we can do much more.
“I’m glad that the Senate is doing that. But you we are not going to relent about working with other agencies.
“Our budget is getting smaller but we are going to work harder to ensure that we continue to do what we had to do because we are talking about human capital development,” she said.
On the Japa Syndrome, Dabiri-Erewa said “Wether we like it or not, it’s the trending news.
“You can’t stop migration but we can help reduce illegal migration by raising more awareness.
“Now diaspora is on the front burner, you can’t say anything without the diaspora and we cannot ignore them so we will continue to count on the support of the parliament particularly in budgetary allocation.”
She, however, said that the commission was working with some of those migrants that had returned to the country to serve as ambassadors.
“We have people who said they would never do that again they become ambassadors to tell people that it doesn’t worth it.”
Chairman of the Senate Committee, Sen. Michael Nnachi remarked that, “We will look at your budget and see what we can do before we defend it in the appropriation committee.”
