FG promises proper documentation of funds remitted by Nigerians in Diaspora

TO authenticate the claim by the umbrella organisation of Nigerians in the Diaspora that its members contribute about N4.6 trillion ($21 billion) to the country’s economy yearly, the Federal Government yesterday said that henceforth, a process to authenticate this declaration would be put together.

The Permanent Secretary, Political Affairs, Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF), Ibukun Odusote, who stated this yesterday in Abuja during a press briefing to herald the 2015 Diaspora Day slated for Tuesday next week, said such huge remittance is being made into the country without any trace of where it has gone or proof of such investment.

Odusote, while answering questions from journalists, said one of the intentions of the government for the planned parley is to correct this anomaly so as to rationalise the outlay the Federal Government has been putting down in the past years in similar conferences as well as keep the records straight.

She said: “I must confess to you that though we know it is in existence, we do not have the records. It is one of the issues that we are addressing in this conference, that henceforth, whenever such happens, we can keep a tab on it so that we would be able to know what is coming to Nigeria in terms of funds and monetary transactions.

“We were told that $26 billion or so come into the country, whatever it is, the records are not good enough, we would want to work on that to ensure that from now, everything that is being done is properly monitored. It is one of the major reasons for this conference in particular.”

Odusote said this year’s celebration would be observed in three thematic areas of health, education and youth and sports, with topics of sustainable healthcare delivery in Nigeria, sustainable development through youths’ empowerment and enhancing education in Nigeria, taking the central stage.

She said President Muhammadu Buhari would perform the opening ceremony, which will also feature a presentation from “a young Nigerian student with incredible accomplishment, Ufot Ekong, who recently solved an unresolved mathematical equation of 30 years.”