The Federal Government has praised the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) for repatriating stranded Nigerians abroad and for providing care and support for vulnerable persons in the Northeast.
Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Amb Mustapha Sulaiman, in a statement issued on Wednesday by the Ministry’s Spokesman, Mr Ferdinand, gave the commendation while receiving delegates from IOM led by Mr Richard Danziger, IOM’s Regional Director for West Africa.
Sulaiman lauded IOM for its good works in Nigeria and reiterated the commitment of Nigeria to honoring its obligations to the organisation.
He called on IOM to identify the different categories of migrants, ensure the creation of a data base, and initiate appropriate strategies to remedy the scourge of migration in the country.
Sulaiman also assured the delegation that the ministry was open to new initiatives and would continue to partner with relevant agencies to address the issue of migration to achieve better results.
Danziger had said the delegation from IOM was at the ministry to intimate the permanent secretary on the activities of the organisation which included among others, facilitating the repatriation of stranded Nigerians in Europe and Libya.
He said other activities of the organisation included creating reintegration programmes to restart their lives; provision of support for vulnerable Nigerians in the North East with the establishment of 106 camps.
Danziger said IOM had also worked closely with government agencies in the area of enlightenment campaigns on the dangers associated with irregular migration and capacity building programmes for relevant government agencies.
He also informed the permanent secretary that although majority of repatriated migrants fell under the irregular migration category, a significant number of them was skilled.
Danziger noted that Nigerians living abroad were contributing immensely to the development of their host countries. Citing the U.S., he noted that the average salaries of Nigerian migrants were higher than the average salaries of their American counterparts.
The IOM chief added that the above scenario buttressed the fact that the Nigerian migrants could be positive players in the economic sector anywhere they found themselves.
