The Chairman House of Representatives Committee on the Diaspora, Mrs Abike Dabiri-Erewa, has told government to continue to make use of the enormous human resources of Nigerians in the Diaspora.
Speaking in an interview with the North America Correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in New York on Saturday, the lawmaker urged the Federal Government to maintain its existing contact with Nigerians living abroad.
“I am glad that is being done now, we can do a lot more. That is why we need a commission that will solely handle issues of Nigerians in Diaspora.
?“We need to celebrate those people that are making Nigeria proud, we should even know them, that is why our committee is thinking of having a magazine on the Nigerian in Diaspora as well as introduce Nigeria Diaspora award in Nigeria,’’ Dabiri-Erewa.
She described Nigerians abroad as “great minds and brilliant people’’ who have contributed to building the world economy.
The lawmaker noted that knowing the number? of Nigerians abroad was one of the challenges facing her committee, but said the committee was dealing with an estimated eight million Nigerians.
Dabiri-Erewa said that the largest number of Nigerians, estimated at about four million reside in the U.S.
She said that as a result of the challenge posed by inaccurate statistics, establishing a data base of? Nigerians abroad had become a priority, noting that setting up of the Diaspora Commission was still in the parliamentary stage.
?
????????????????????????
?