Abike Dabiri-Erewa, the chairperson, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCom), has appealed for an amendment to the act establishing the commission.

She said this when she appeared before the Senate Committee on Diaspora and Non-Governmental Organisations on the 2023 budget defence on Tuesday in Abuja.

Ms Dabiri-Erewa, who lamented the inadequate funding of the commission, said an amendment to the act would enable the commission to generate revenue.

“We can generate funds,” she said. “So if the law is amended and we think outside the box and look at other ways, it would aid our operations.”

She maintained that the commission needed better funding, describing it as one of the “most poor-funded” agencies.

“Our budget is getting smaller, but we are going to work harder to ensure that we continue to do what we had to do because we are talking about human capital development,” she said.

On the Japa Syndrome, Ms Dabiri-Erewa said, “Whether we like it or not, it’s the trending news.

“You can’t stop migration, but we can help reduce illegal migration by raising more awareness.

“Now, diaspora is on the front burner, you can’t say anything without the diaspora, and we cannot ignore them, so we will continue to count on the support of the parliament, particularly in budgetary allocation.”

She, however, said the commission was working with some of the migrants that had returned to the country to serve as ambassadors.

“We have people who said they would never do that again. They become ambassadors to tell people that it doesn’t worth it,” she said.

In his remarks, the chairman of the Senate Committee, Michael Nnachi, promised to look at the budget toward an updated review.

(NAN)