Junior minister of foreign affairs, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, has reiterated Nigeria’s readiness to deepen collaboration with the International Organisation for Migration in tackling migration crises.

Ms Odumegwu-Ojukwu said this when IOM’s deputy director-general of operations, Ugochi Daniels, visited her, according to a statement on Thursday.

The minister explained President Bola Tinubu’s foreign policy approach (Democracy, Demography, Diaspora, and Development), christened 4-Ds. According to her, the 4-Ds focuses on citizen diplomacy following concerns about the welfare of the over 17 million Nigerians in the diaspora.

Ms Odumegwu-Ojukwu described Nigeria’s vibrant Diaspora population as individuals who have played very important roles in the nation’s economy by driving development. She highlighted the contributions of millions of Nigerian migrants in the Diaspora, stressing the need for IOM to promote positive narratives on migration.

She also reiterated the longstanding cooperation between Nigeria and the IOM in addressing concerns related to vulnerable migrants and internally displaced persons. The minister also praised the IOM’s strategic direction, which she said had saved lives and protected people on the move, driven solutions to displacement, and facilitated pathways for regular migration.

She commended IOM for responding to severe displacement caused by flooding in parts of the country, especially in Niger. Ms Odumegwu-Ojukwu noted that IOM deployed rapid response teams to support data collection, conduct initial damage assessments, and provide emergency shelter kits and non-food items packages to support up to 1,000 of the most vulnerable families.

Earlier, Ms Daniels reassured Ms Odumegwu-Ojukwu of the organisation’s commitment to the government and people of Nigeria. According to her, Nigeria is number one in returns, as no fewer than 70,000 irregular migrants have been returned to the country by the IOM.

Ms Daniels added that about 27,000 of the irregular migrants had been reintegrated into society through the Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration Programme.

(NAN)