Nigeria’s House of Representatives has announced it will look back into the matter of diaspora voting by revisiting the Diaspora Voting Bill.
This was disclosed by Rep. Tolulope Shadipe, Chairman of the committee, during the budget defence of the Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) by its chief, Mrs Abike Dabiri-Erewa.
If the bill is passed, eligible Nigerians in the diaspora would be able to vote in national elections.
The bill: Rep. Tolulope Shadipe stated that the House is going to reintroduce the diaspora voting bill, which was rejected at the constitution amendment exercise earlier. “We will be back with the bill. They are Nigerians and they have the right to vote in Nigerian elections. The modalities and the issues raised the last time will be resolved and we will come back to it,” she said. She noted that the committee was also looking at the issue of people of Nigerian descent who are currently not Nigerians but wish to return home after the DNA tests proved that they had ties to Nigeria. Dabiri-Erewa, in her response, stated that 80% of prisoners in Dubai are Nigerians who went there without jobs and got into trouble. She urged Nigerians to stop migrating to other countries if they can’t secure jobs before leaving.
For the record: Earlier this year, Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party for the 2023 election promised to provide an opportunity for diaspora Nigerians to vote in the 2027 elections if elected president next year.
Obi said his administration will continue to engage the Nigerian Diaspora in ways that are mutually beneficial adding that “By 2027 election, Nigerian Diaspora must have a voice via absentee ballots.”
