Nigeria’s Migration Policy To Be Reviewed Soon, Says Sulaiman-Ibrahim

The Federal Commissioner, National Commission For Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI), Hon. Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, has disclosed that the country’s migration policy is at the verge of being reviewed.

Underscoring the importance of the review, she stated that migrants are a remarkable engine for growth as they account for more than 250 million around the world, which make up three per cent of global population and contribute 10 per cent of global gross domestic product.

According to her, Nigeria remains a country of origin, a country of transit and a country of destination, hence, the country is not against migration but posited that Nigeria is in dire need of a migration policy that works for everybody and to this end, Ibrahim added that the team from her agency and that of the Foreign Affairs would be in South Africa, to meet with other global stakeholders aimed at discussing how to strengthen labour migration policies.

She added that the last review was done in 2015 and NCFRMI being the lead agency for migration for government, “ we are the custodians of the migration policy. It is about to undergo a review.

“The first joint Migration Dialogue with the Civil Society Day was conducted in collaboration with the CSONetMADE and IOM. This is in recognition of the role being played by The Civil Society organisation as key stakeholders in Migration Managment. The event was well-attended and discuss was also on areas to strengthen the migration policy which has an Implementation plan and a work plan.”

The federal commissioner recognized and appreciated stakeholders that are managing migration in Nigeria.

She said, “we have a lot of partners too, international partners like the Swiss Government through the SDC, IOM, especially repatriations and readmission, reintegration, rehabilitation and then resettlement, and also the European Union (EU), and they support us in managing migration challenges and in the effective implementation of our Migration Policy.

“As a country, one of our key challenges is Irregular migration, So we are not against migration as a country, we just want to have a migration policy that works for everybody”.

During the commemoration of the International Day for Migrants recently, the commissioner said her commission has successfully supported in the repatriation and reintegration of stranded Nigerian nationals from Libya and other countries throughout the years.

“We are stepping up our efforts to provide long-term solutions to those in need. Nigeria provides a welcoming environment for refugees, as we now host about 73,000 refugees of different countries. We are dedicated to facilitating the safe repatriation of Nigerian refugees who voluntarily desire to be repatriated and are presently seeking asylum in Cameroon, Chad, and Niger.”