The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Ojukwu, has reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to deepening collaboration with the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) in tackling irregular migration and advancing diaspora engagement.
Ambassador Ojukwu made this known when she received the Deputy Director-General (Operations) of the IOM, Ms. Ugochi Florence Daniels, and her delegation in Abuja.
Highlighting Nigeria’s demographic reality, she noted that the country’s large youth population makes irregular migration a pressing challenge, with many young people embarking on perilous journeys across deserts and seas.
According to her, discussions with the IOM focused on strengthening cooperation in border management, improving migration data, supporting Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), and mobilising the diaspora community for national development.
She stressed that the diaspora remains central to President Bola Tinubu’s foreign policy priorities, known as the “4-Ds” Democracy, Demography, Diaspora, and Development while urging IOM to help promote positive narratives about migration.
In her response, Ms. Daniels reaffirmed IOM’s longstanding partnership with Nigeria, citing extensive interventions across the country. She disclosed that Nigeria ranks number one in terms of migrant returns, with over 70,000 irregular migrants returned through IOM’s programmes, and about 27,000 successfully reintegrated via the Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration (AVRR) scheme.
She also highlighted IOM’s rapid humanitarian response to recent severe flooding in Niger State, which saw the deployment of a response team and the distribution of emergency shelter kits and non-food items to about 1,000 affected families.
