The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Amb. Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, has reiterated Nigeria’s readiness to forge better collaboration with the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) in tackling the migration crisis.
This is contained in a statement issued on Thursday by Dr Magnus Eze, Special Assistant on Communication and New Media, Office of the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs.
Odumegwu-Ojukwu said this during the visit of the Deputy Director-General of Operations for the International Organisation for Migration, Ms Ugochi Daniels, to her office.
The minister of state explained President Bola Tinubu’s foreign policy approach comprising Democracy, Demography, Diaspora and Development christened 4-Ds.
She said that the 4-Ds were focused on citizen diplomacy following concern about the welfare of the over 17 million Nigerians in the Diaspora.
Odumegwu-Ojukwu described Nigeria’s vibrant Diaspora as having played very important roles in the nation’s economy by driving development.
She highlighted the contributions of millions of Nigerian migrants in Diaspora, stressing the need for IOM to promote positive narratives on migration.
She also reiterated the longstanding cooperation between Nigeria and IOM in tackling concerns relating to vulnerable migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).
The minister of state also commended the IOM’s strategic direction as having saved lives and protected people on the move, driven solutions to displacement and facilitated pathways for regular migration.
She commended the IOM for responding to severe displacement caused by flooding in some parts of Nigeria, especially Niger State.
The minister of state noted that the IOM deployed rapid response team to support data collection, conduct initial-damage assessment, provide emergency shelter kits and non-food items packages to support up to 1000 most vulnerable families.
“As part of the UN80 Reform Initiative, Nigeria is willing to host International Organisations/UN Operations that are relocating from Geneva or New York.
“IOM Nigeria is implementing a programme titled: “Promoting Better Management of Migration in Nigeria (PBMM),” funded by the European Union to assist the government in managing irregular migration through immigration and border management, migration data, policy and labour migration and Diaspora mobilisation.”
Earlier, the Deputy Director-General of IOM, Ugochi Daniels, reassured Odumegwu-Ojukwu of the organisation’s commitment to the government and people of Nigeria.
According to her, Nigeria is number one in returns as no fewer than 70,000 irregular migrants been returned to the country by the IOM.
Daniels added that about 27,000 of the irregular migrants had been reintegrated into the society through its Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration Programme (AVRR).
Daniels said, “The organisation is dedicated to promoting humane and orderly migration for all migrants and accelerating the transformative initiatives to reach the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including the Africa Union’s Agenda 2063.
“We have a very comprehensive intervention in Nigeria. We count on your continued support for the work of IOM in Nigeria.”
