After Attack From Nigerians, Abike Dabiri Reveals NiDCOM Receives Only N8m Monthly From FG

Abike Dabiri-Erewa, the Chairman and the Chief Executive officer of the Nigerian Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM) has revealed that the commission receives only a paltry N8m from the government to run its operation every month.

She revealed this on Arise TV while responding to criticisms that the commission she chairs failed to act adequately in the case of late Itunu Babalola, 23, who goes by the pseudonym ‘Miss Becky Paul’.

NiDCOM was established in 2019 to provide for the engagement of Nigerians in Diaspora in the policies, projects and participation in the development of Nigeria.

Part of the function of NiDCOM is to manage the funds, with respect to the day-to-day running of the Commission.

But the CEO revealed that both NiDCOM and Nigerian Consulates across the continent are poorly funded.

Dabiri said that was the reason why the Nigerian missions in Ivory Coast were short of funds and resorted to seeking help from donors including some staff of the mission.

The CEO said some staff of the African Development Bank in the country also contributed.

She said, “This was an emergency and it was like let us just help our selves. That is the way it is, the missions are not properly funded and it’s an open secret.

“Even the diaspora commission is not funded. We get N8m a month. So if I was to get on a plane to go to some countries, I can’t even go. We have to think outside the box, so that is the reality of the situation.”

A check by THE WHISTLER shows that NiCOM’s budget for 2022 is N519,718,585.

A greater part of the money which is N254,718,585 is for personnel cost, N100m for overhead, while N165m is for capital projects.

In 2021, NiDCOM proposed N354,515,484 which will translate to an average of N29.5m monthly.