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The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, has assured that the lawmakers would work comprehensively on the issue of Diaspora voting.
Gbajabiamila made this known yesterday while receiving the management of the Nigerian in Diaspora Commission (NiDCom) led by its Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Ms. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, in his office.
He noted that the issue of Diaspora voting has been on the front burner for a long time, and being a constitutional matter, the House would be very thorough in the process of working on the bill seeking to empower Nigerians abroad to vote during the country’s elections.
He said: “It requires a constitutional amendment, as the constitution talks about those who reside in Nigeria. Since the bill is before us, the constitution amendment will allow us to draw up a detailed, comprehensive law. It’s going to be tough and complicated because we are still having election issues even within, but Nigerians abroad are not any less Nigerian than we are. We will deal with all the issues and hopefully harmonise with the Senate when it’s time for harmonisation.
“On the concept behind the +600 Nigerians in Diaspora Icons Compendium compiled by the commission, this is very exciting; what it does is, it encourages Nigerians abroad and it encourages those that are not there to do better. This just underscores the fact that there are so many Nigerians out there doing amazing things, and we must encourage and celebrate them because if you don’t tell the good side of your story, nobody is going to tell it for you. Bad news sells faster than good news, that’s why I was excited about this.”
In her response, Dabiri-Erewa, who had earlier sought the support of the speaker for diaspora voting, expressed happiness that the new generation of Nigerians in the diaspora are equally eager to engage the government for the development of the country, citing the huge remittances they make yearly to the country.
She said: “We believe that in our two years of existence, we’ve been able to justify the reason for setting up of the Nigerian Diaspora Commission. Today, we have a diaspora policy that gives the country the short, medium and long-term plans to fulfill the issues as they affect the diaspora.”
