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The passport of a country determines the freedom of travel enjoyed by its citizens. Singapore’s passport has free access to more destinations – namely 192 (out of 227 in the world) – than any other travel document, according to the 2023 Henley Passport Index, which was released on Tuesday. Free access means visa-free entries and unbureaucratic visa issuance on arrival. …

Nigerians from across the globe will converge on their country’s capital Abuja on 25-26 July for this year’s Nigerian Diaspora Day (NDD). The annual event brings together Nigerians resident abroad and representatives of the federal and state governments and their agencies as well as of the organised private sector to discuss areas of partnership in national development. The theme for …

Around one million people applied for asylum in the EU+ countries, comprising EU member states as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland, last year. This is an increase of around 50 percent compared to 2021, according to the EU Asylum Agency (EUAA). According to the report, about 996,000 applications for international protection were filed in the EU+ countries. Together …

According to a new directive of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), recipients of remittances from abroad henceforth have the option to receive their money in naira. This is in addition to the existing alternatives of being paid in dollar and eNaira. The directive, addressed to banks, international money transfer operators (IMTOs) and the general public, was contained in a …

Hon (Dr) Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Chairman/CEO of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), has re-emphasised the need for diaspora skills transfer for efficient service delivery in the healthcare sector in Nigeria. Ms Dabiri-Erewa stated this when she received Dr Monica Simi Alabi, a Nigerian-UK based specialist in Healthcare Policy and Leadership, in her office in Abuja. The NiDCOM chief noted that …

President Tinubu called for a collective action from member-states, pledging that under his leadership, frameworks would be harmonized to actualize the dreams of ECOWAS ABUJA, Nigeria, July 10, 2023/APO Group/ — In a unanimous endorsement that signals the trust and confidence reposed in him by his counterparts, President Bola Tinubu emerged the new Chairman of the Economic Community of West …

Aisha Ali-Gombe, Associate Professor of Computer Science and Engineering at Louisiana State University, USA, has expressed her readiness to give back to her home country by supporting the improvement of the standard of teaching Computer Science in Nigerian universities to meet global standards. Prof Ali-Gombe was recently appointed director of the university’s prestigious new Cybersecurity Clinic, which received a $1.5 …

The Governor of Enugu State, Dr Peter Ndubuisi Mbah, is looking to the diaspora for investment in his self-professed determination to transform the economy of the southeastern state. Mbah, who assumed office on 29 May, launched the Enugu State Diaspora and Investment Forum (ES-DIF) recently, with the objective to attract increased investment from the state’s indigenes in the diaspora. Enugu …

Dr. Pierrette Herzberger-Fofana, member of the European Parliament, writes on a recent visit of the European Parliament’s Development Committee to Zambia where its delegation met the country’s president and discussed the recent African leaders’ initiative to end the war between Russia and Ukraine. —– From 19 to 21 June 2023, the European Parliament’s DEVE Development Committee carried out a joint …

Incumbent Julius Maada Bio has won re-election in Sierra Leone’s tense presidential vote, but his main challenger was quick to reject the results. The electoral commission said on Tuesday that Bio, 59, was re-elected with 56.17 percent at Saturday’s general election. His top rival Samura Kamara, of the All People’s Congress (APC), came second with 41.16 percent. Dr Kamara (72) …

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has invited David Olatokunbo Alaba to invest in Nigeria, the homeland of the Austrian international footballer’s father. The Nigerian leader made the plea when he addressed Nigerians in Paris on Thursday in his first formal engagement with the diaspora. Asiwaju Tinubu, who is in the French capital to attend the Global Financing Pact Summit convened by …

Each year on 20 June, the world marks World Refugee Day, to draw attention to the plight of millions of people who have been forced to flee war, violence and persecution and to the international obligations under the United Nations 1951 Geneva Convention on the Protection of Refugees. In the face of the biggest refugee crisis in Europe since World …

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced that its “Naira 4 Dollar” remittance scheme will end on 30 June 2023. The policy, which was introduced in March 2021 to encourage the inflow of foreign currency, will no longer be in operation as from 1 July, it said. Under the scheme, the CBN pays out a reward of N5 for …

Hon Abike Dabiri-Erewa, the Chairman/CEO, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), has commended Ambassador Zubairu Dada, the outgoing Minister of State, Foreign Affairs, for making the job easier for the management of the Commission. Ms Dabiri-Erewa made the comment when she led a delegation of Management Staff of NiDCOM on a farewell visit to the minister’s home in Abuja. She noted …

Nigerians living in Europe under the aegis of the Nigerians in Diaspora Organization Europe (NIDO-Europe) have congratulated President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on his assumption of office. In a statement jointly signed by its Chairman, Dr Bashir Obasekola, and General Secretary, Michael Otogo, the organisation pledged its total support to the new leader, who was sworn into office as the 16th …

Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu was sworn into office on Monday as the 16th President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria at a colourful ceremony in the country’s capital city of Abuja. Tinubu, who succeeds Muhammadu Buhari, had won a tough presidential election on 25 February, beating Atiku Abubakar of the main opposition PDP and Peter Obi of the Labour Party. …

The British government has announced measures to restrict the ability of international students to bring family members to the UK in order to reduce net migration to the country. The move comes as official statistics are expected to confirm that net migration rose to more than 700,000 in the year to December 2022. The new visa restrictions, announced on Tuesday, …

The Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation Worldwide (NIDO WW) has congratulated the Chairman/CEO of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), Abike Dabiri-Erewa, on the confirmation of her reappointment by the Nigerian Senate. President Muhammadu Buhari had earlier reappointed Ms Dabiri-Erewa to a second 5-year term, a decision that was approved by the upper chamber of the National Assembly on Tuesday. A …

Germany has opened its first embassy in the Gambia. Until now, the presence of the German Federal Foreign Office in The Gambia was limited to a Liaison Office as part of the German Embassy in Dakar. The event took place on 17 May and was marked with a diplomatic reception. To honour the milestone, Minister of State in the German …

On Tuesday 23 May 2023 the High Court will hear an application by the Bodo Community in Nigeria to proceed to trial with their claim for clean-up of oil spills from Shell pipelines in 2008. The spills caused the largest loss of mangrove habitat in history of oil pollution and 15 years after those spills clean-up is still not complete. …