By Abubakar Yunusa Abuja
Federal Government through the ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Directorate of Technical Cooperation in Nigeria (DTCA) have called on Nigerians in Diaspora to be more involved in efforts to rebuild Nigeria.
The Minister of State for foreign Affairs,H.E Zubairu Dada made the call at the symposium on the Nigerian Diaspora Bond, “a tool for national development-the journey so far”.
The programme which took place in Abuja was organised by Directorates of technical cooperation in Africa(DTCA).
The minister, who was represented by ambassador Bakure Usman, said several calls have been made to urgently return home to assist in the nation building or to invest in growing the economy.
“The Nigerian authorities have developed an effective and efficient funding mechanism to complement the other sources of funds through Diaspora Bond as an alternative framework of sourcing additional financial support for achieving physical, economic growth and development.
“The essence of bond is to fund projects and programs and Nigerians in Diaspora must be sensitized on the need to take advantage of this investment opportunity, which will catalyze the development of the country”.
He revealed that the world Bank reported that Diaspora remittances in Nigeria for year 2020 fell to 17 billion United States Dollars against 23 United States Dollars in 2019.
“This is by far bigger than technical AID and Grant budget from donor countries and agencies. It is also sad to note that remittances to Sub-Saharan Africa attracts the highest fees. In 2021, it cost Nigerians 8% of their remittances to remit back to Nigeria.”
