The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Abike Dabiri- Erewa

  • ‘Nigerians indulging in crime abroad bad envoys’

    NIGERIANS who take to crime abroad are bad ambassadors of their fatherland and do not represent the values of the country, President Muhammadu Buhari said in Yokohama, Japan, on Thursday.

    He spoke at a meeting with leaders of the Nigerian Community living in Japan on the sidelines of the Seventh Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD7).

    A statement by the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, quoted the President as saying: “Let me also say that there are few Nigerians in the Diaspora that are giving us a bad name by engaging in criminal activities. These Nigerians are a minority. They do not represent the values of our country, and I plead with them to change their ways.

    “We will not condone any crime, whether at home or abroad, and we will also not allow these Nigerians define us as a people with reputation for criminality.”

    Urging Nigerians in Japan to be good ambassadors, Buhari said: “I am personally very happy that there are millions of Nigerians all over the world, like you here, who are truly making us proud.”

    Describing majority of the over 17 million Nigerians in the Diaspora as “the face of Nigeria globally and our ambassadors for good,” the President noted: Many of our Diasporans, like your good selves here today, have excelled in varying fields of endeavor, both professionally and individually.

    “You have also made significant and overwhelmingly positive contributions to your Nigerian and international host communities. You have continually been a positive bridge between Nigeria and the world. It is not an easy feat and we commend you, salute your courage and efforts.”

    Noting that “Japan is at the cutting edge of technology and efficiency, two very important attributes that can play a role in Nigeria and improve our capacity for development,” President Buhari urged Nigerians to continue to contribute their quota by helping to develop their host country and fatherland as well.

    “I look forward to your inborn gift, ability, and capacity in taking up this challenge”, he told his audience.

    Commending many of them who are already “positively impacting the Nigerian economy through remittances, promoting international trade in Nigerian commodities, our music, culture, tourism, sports, and education, while also helping to establish industries in Nigeria,” the President urged them “to encourage legitimate Japanese entrepreneurs to come and invest in Nigeria.”

    He said: “We are continually working to create the necessary enabling environment for investors to thrive, through improvements in our Ease of Doing Business practices, providing security, diversification of the economy, infrastructure and fighting corruption.

    “We have put in place the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERPG) to put the country on a path of sustained recovery and growth.”

    Explaining the rationale for his regular meetings with Nigerians abroad and the establishment of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, the President said: “As you are aware, I have regularly held town hall meetings with Nigerians in the Diaspora on all my foreign engagements be they in Europe, Asia, America and Africa.

    Read Also: National Assembly won’t fail Buhari, says Lawan

    “At these fora, I have always, appealed to our citizens to be our good ambassadors, observe the laws of your host countries, excel in whatever you do legitimately, and also remember us at home (Nigeria).

    “I have established the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission specifically to engage with you, signifying a coordinated attempt by our administration to increase the involvement of our Diaspora in our national development.

    “Collectively, your resources, skills, and talents will be a positive force for our country which can help accelerate our national growth and development.”

    The Chairman of the Diaspora Commission, Mrs. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, who coordinated the parley, described the President as “the most Diaspora-friendly leader we have had in Nigeria.”

    She described the meeting as a “parade of the brightest and best of our citizens, plying their trade in Japan. They included academics, industrialists, top businessmen, scientists, economists, and many others.

    Professor Ejiogu Emenike, President, Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation Asia (NIDOASIA) and an energy expert, commended President Buhari for efficient leadership. He disclosed that his members have “comparative advantages in human capital development, which we are trying to bring back to Nigeria.”

    He added: “Any problem that science and technology can solve, we are able to, and we can help Nigeria in areas of need.”

    Ochade Osakwe, Chairman, Nigeria/Japan Chambers of Commerce and Industry, recounted businesses that have been  attracted to Nigeria in recent times, promising to do more, as the security and investment climates back home improved further.

    Nnaji Fintan, President, Nigerian Union in Japan, asked for more exploits in the areas of education, quality infrastructure and security, which incidentally, are focal points of the current administration.

  • Sanwo-Olu urges FG to open up Badagry for commerce,business, tourism

    Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Thursday said the reason the State Government has been appealing to the Federal Government to open up Badagry was to boost commerce, businesses and tourism potentials of the axis.

    Sanwo-Olu disclosed this when the Chairman, Nigerian Diaspora Commission, Mrs. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, led members of the organizing committee for the annual ‘Door of Return’ to pay the governor a courtesy visit at the State House, Marina.

    He stressed that ‘Badagry’ has become a brand that has been recognized globally over the years as a tourism destination in Nigeria.

    Sanwo-Olu said:  “The potentials in the tourism sector are enormous and that is why we have included it as part of our agenda to take Lagos to enviable heights.

    “That is why we have continued to tell the Federal Government that we need to open that corridor for commerce, business and tourism”.

    While justifying Badagry as a brand, the governor argued: “No matter how people take tourism to another location, if you have historic presence somewhere, no matter how they take it away, they will still come back to the historic base”.

    He assured that the state government would provide both operational and logistic supports for the event scheduled for October to assist Africans in Diaspora reunite with their ancestral home, adding that the traffic and other infrastructures aimed to be completed in Badagry would be fast tracked.

    “I can assure you that I will get my people to work immediately because the time is less than two months to the event. I can assure you that all the logistics required would be provided”.

    Sanwo-Olu, however, said that his administration would work with Diaspora Commission and residents of the community “to further boost the potentials that could be gotten from the community.”

    Read Also: Sanwo-Olu urged to intervene in LASU crisis

    Earlier, Dabiri-Erewa hinted that this year’s event was designed to mark the 400th year since slave trade started and ended in Africa.

    She noted that aside boosting the tourism of the state, the event would afford participants the opportunity to reunite with their ancestral root, saying, at the inception of the programme three years ago, we had about 25 returnees from Brazil, Jamaica and others.

    The chairman said: “The guests have the opportunity to walk through the door of no return where their ancestors were shipped out of the continent. They will also have the opportunity to have experience of how their fore fathers were taken out of the continent then. They will have the opportunity to see the different artifacts.

    “From the point of no return which was the practice over 400 years ago, we open the door of return to the continent of their ancestors. And Lagos serves as the door that has helped them to return to their ancestral root.

    “There is a spiritual and emotional connection attached to the exercise; many that have passed through the process often com

     

  • Investigate death of Nigerian student in Malaysia — FG

    THE Chairman of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), Abike Dabiri-Erewa has called for investigation into the death of Mr. Thomas Orhions Ewansiha, a Ph.D. student at the Limkokwing University in Malaysia.

    Dabiri-Erewa urged the Nigerian High Commission in Kuala Lumpur, to open an investigation into the death of Ewansiha.

    Erewa who protested the death of the post graduate student stressed the need for the country to ensure that the welfare of Nigerians in Malaysia is not compromised.

    Read Also: Nigerian student breaks Indian varsity academic record

    In a statement she personally signed, the NIDCOM boss stated, “Our attention has been drawn to the death of Mr. Thomas Orhions Ewansiha.

    We are saddened at the demise of this Nigerian student who was pursuing his Ph.D. in management, at the Limkokwing University of Creative Technology in Selangor, Malaysia.

    ”Ewansiha had a valid student pass, but he was still detained for 14 days by the Malaysian authorities until he suffered a seizure while in custody.

    “I urge the Nigerian High Commission in Kuala Lumpur, to open an investigation into the death of Ewansiha. We must ensure that the welfare of our countrymen in Malaysia is not compromised.

    My heart goes out to his family, his young widow and two who’ve suffered such a painful loss.”

  • Nine Nigerians killed in Libya migrant detention centre airstrike

    Nine Nigerians were among those killed during an airstrike on a migration detention centre in Tripoli, Libya, it was learnt.

    Forty-four people were killed in the unfortunate incident that occurred in the early hours of Wednesday.

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday condemned the airstrike and described it as “inhuman, wicked and callous attack on helpless and defenceless people”.

    The Chairman/Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), Mrs. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, condoled with the families of the nine Nigerians involved.

    In a statement, she said it was disheartening that nine Nigerians have been identified as victims in the unfortunate incident.

    According to Abdurahman Balogun, the commission’s media aide, Mrs. Dabiri-Erewa said it was regrettable that migrants survived a treacherous journey only to be killed in someone else’s war in Libya.

    She said it was painful that the affected Nigerians, who were due to be airlifted back to Nigeria, were cut down in their prime.

    The NIDCOM boss reiterated calls for Nigerians especially the youths to shun movement into hostile countries, and if they must travel, go legally with a legitimate mission to those countries.

    Read Also: Nigerian ‘human trafficker’ held in Libya

    Mrs. Dabiri-Erewa prayed for the repose of the souls of all that died in the airstrike and sent condolence message to the families of the victims Noting that over 13.000 migrants had been brought home so far from Libya, she thanked the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), National Emeergency Agency (NEMA) and other international agencies involved in the evacuation of the migrants, while she called on the UN to hasten up in the protection of other detention centres from such attacks.

    The statement reads: “At least 44 people were reportedly killed including nine Nigerians at a detention center in Tajoura, east of Tripoli in Libya, Wednesday morning through an airstrike attack.

    “It was learnt that some of those killed had been profiled to leave the country in the coming days. “In addition to those killed, IOM said that more than 180 others staying in the same detention center were registered to return to their home countries through the U.N. agency’s voluntary migrant return program, which helps arrange their documents and transport.”

  • Drug trafficking: Airport Scanners not functioning optimally – Dabiri-Erewa

    The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, Mrs Abike Dabiri-Erewa says scanners at some Nigerian Airports are not working optimally.

    The senior special assistant made this known before the Ad- hoc Committee set up by the  Senate to look into circumstances that led to the arrest of Zainab Aliyu in Saudi Arabia in Dec. 2018,  overplanting of a banned drug, Tramadol,  in her luggage.

    The committee was headed by Sen. Kabiru Gaya(APC-Kano).

    Dabiri – Erewa who is also Chairman designate, of Nigeria Diaspora Commission ( NDC) alleged that some foreign airlines were running drug cartels in connivance with some Nigerians at international airports across the country.

    “They operate alongside local collaborators. It is not Air Peace, not Arik Air she said .

    Meanwhile, the Airport Chief of Security of the Federal Airport Authority (FAAN) Mr. El-Yakub Lamir, disclosed that scanners at the Aminu Kano International Airport in particular, were not configured to detect drugs.

    He said that there were 15 security agents involved in checking luggages at the point of entry and exit but that they had been reduced in number due to public complaints.

    Read also: Abike Dabiri hails Nigerian for returning N150m wrongfully sent into his account

    In his remarks, Chairman of the  Committee, Sen. Gaya, charged the officials of NDLEA to increase the number of sniffer dogs in all the international Airports across the country to a significant figure to help detect drugs.

    He further called on officials of FAAN  to upgrade the scanner at the airports to detect drugs.

    He commended Zainab’s father for providing  information on her arrest.

    He  assured that, as soon as the committee was done with its investigations,  it would submit a report to the senate before the end of the 8th National Assembly.

    The Senate had mandated the adhoc committee to investigate alleged planting  of banned drug in one Zainab Aliyu and Mr Ibrahim Abubakar’ s bags, which led to their arrests in  Saudi Arabia,  where she was detained for four months.

    They were both arrested when the Nigerian Government was able to establish that the drugs were planted in their bags by some drug cartel at the Aminu Kano International Airport where they boarded for Saudi Arabia.

    Zainab Aliyu, a student of Maitama Sule University, Kano, and Ibrahim Abubakar, were arrested in Saudi Arabia for alleged drug trafficking.

    Aliyu was arrested in December 2018 when she was arrested at the Prince Mohammed Bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Medina.(NAN)

  • Egypt, Ethiopian Airlines running drug cartels in Nigeria, says Dabiri-Erewa

    Chairman of the Nigeria Diaspora Commission (NDC), Hon.  Abike Dabiri-Erewa, has accused Egypt and Ethiopian Airlines of running drug cartels across Nigeria’s international airports.

    Dabiri-Erewa stated this on Wednesday during an investigative hearing by an ad-hoc Committee of the Senate set up to look into the circumstances leading to the arrest last December of a Nigerian lady, Zainab Aliyu by Saudi Arabian authorities.

    Dabiri-Erewa told the committee that, “We have other foreign and local Airlines operating at our Airports. But Egyptian and Ethiopian Airlines have drug cartels operating at our International Airports. They operate alongside local collaborators. It is not Air Peace, not Arik Air, but Egyptian and Ethiopian Airlines”.

    Chairman of the Committee, Senator Kabiru Gaya, demanded to know the status of the scanners at the nation’s airports across the country.

    In response, the Airport Chief of Security at the Federal Airport Authority (FAAN), Mr. El-Yakub Usman Lamir, said that scanners at the Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano, were not configured to detect drugs.

    Lamir added that there were 15 security agents involved in checking luggages at the point of entry and exit but that the number had been reduced as a result of frequent complaints by air travelers.

    On his part, Mr Mustapha Abdallah, who represented the chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), also disclosed that the agency did not have enough German trained sniffer dogs.

    Abdallah said, “Throughout the federation, NDLEA only has 14 sniffer dogs stationed in Lagos and we don’t even have one to detect drugs at the Aminu Kano International Airport at all.

    The committee chairman, Senator Gaya, charged the officials of the NDLEA to increase the number of sniffer dogs in all the international Airports across the country.

    REad also: UPDATED: Senate confirms Dabiri-Erewa as Diaspora commission chairman

    Gaya also directed the officials of the Federal Airports Authority (FAAN) to upgrade such sensitive equipment like scanners at the various Airports to ensure that the country did not become a transit camp for hard drugs.

    The senator however, commended Zainab’s father for providing the information on the arrest of his daughter by Saudi Arabian authorities to the Social Media from where the federal government got wind of her arrest and detention.

    The committee is expected to submit its report to the Senate as upon conclusion of the investigative hearing.

     

  • UPDATED: Senate confirms Dabiri-Erewa as Diaspora commission chairman

    The Senate on Thursday confirmed the appointment of Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa as Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of Nigeria Diaspora Commission.

    The approval of the appointment followed presentation and consideration of the report of the Senate Committee on Diaspora and Non-Governmental Organisations.

    Chairman of the Committee, Senator Rose Oko, who presented the report noted that having screened the nominee and after a careful scrutiny of the curriculum vitae and other accompanying documents of the nominee and having regard to Dabiri-Erewa’s exposure, experience in government, politics and public service, performance, qualifications and competence, recommended her to be confirmed as Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria Diaspora Commission.

    Oko recalled Dabiri-Erewa, among others, was the pioneer Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Diaspora from 2009-2011 and currently the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora.

    Read Also: Dabiri-Erewa renews call for Diaspora voting

    The committee added it found Abike Dabiri-Erewa as fit and proper person for appointment as Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria Diaspora Commission.

    Although no senator opposed the confirmation, Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, wondered why names of other members of the board of the commission were not listed.

    He asked if the commission would operate with a sole administrator.

    Senator Kabiru Gaya, who also spoke in like manner, prayed the Senate to push for the nomination of other members of the commission to enable it function effectively.

    Senator Gbenga Ashafa commended the appointment of Abike Dabiri-Erewa describing it as putting a round peg in a round hole.

    Senate President, Bukola Saraki said that appointment of Dabiri-Erewa is well deserved.

    Saraki wished her a successful tenure of office.

     

  • Dabiri-Erewa renews call for Diaspora voting

    Presidential aide Abike Dabiri-Erewa on Sunday told Nigerians in the Diaspora to prevail on the National Assembly to approve voting for Nigerians in the Diaspora.

    Dabiri-Erewa, Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to the President on Foreign Affairs and the Diaspora, made the call at a Diaspora Leadership Conference, organised by the Nigerian Consulate in New York, U.S.

    The SSA, whose confirmation as chair of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission is pending in the senate, said that Diaspora voting was one of the things the commission would pursue relentlessly when operational.

    She said that while the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had indicated its readiness for Diaspora voting, the lawmakers were uncomfortable with the idea for reasons unknown to her.

    Pointing out that the system was critical to the development of the nation’s politics and electoral process, the SSA pleaded with Nigerians overseas, to join forces to make it happen.

    Read also: How Buhari, Dabiri saved Zainab

    “We all have to make it happen. It is going to be tough and I tell you in politics, lawmakers are not too comfortable with the idea. I don’t know why.

    “But we have to make it happen. If Ghana and Sierra Leone, smaller countries are doing Diaspora voting, why can’t we?

    “It just has to happen and I believe Diaspora voting will help our politics and voting system.

    “INEC has said they are ready. President Muhammadu Buhari told you when he met you that he is ready.

    “The only people we have to beg to make that happen is the National Assembly.”

    In 2016, the Chairman of INEC, Prof. Prof. Mahmoud Yakubu, said the commission was “determined to providing Nigerians living outside the country the opportunity to have a say in determining who will be our leaders”.

    Speaking when members of the Senate Committee on Diaspora and NGOs visited him in Abuja, Yakubu, however, noted that constitutional amendment was required for that to happen.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) report that for now, any Nigerian based overseas wishing to vote in the country’s elections has to return home to do so, a mission considered too expensive by many.

    Abike-Dabiri said that Nigerians in the Diaspora deserved an opportunity to vote from wherever they were in the world, considering their contributions, through remittances home, amounting to about 28 billion dollars in 2018.

    “Two years ago, some people we met in Washington DC said they would gather a million signatures and go to the National Assembly.

    “We did not see one signature. Now, let’s make it a priority. It can happen before 2023. Let’s work together to make it happen.”

    Another user Busayomi, responding to a tweet said, the hospital has only two lab scientists.

    “There are just two lab scientists at the moment at OOUTH and one is presently on leave with series of tests to run so imagine the workload and stress. It’s really not easy for them either.”

     

  • Presidency clears air on Nigerian executed in Saudi Arabia

    The Federal Government on Friday said that drugs was hidden on the body of Kudirat Afolabi, who was executed in Saudi Arabia on April 1.

    It said Afolabi was among the 20 persons arrested with drugs hidden in their body parts.

    The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Foreign Relations and the Diaspora, Mrs Abike Dabiri-Erewa, disclosed this on Friday to News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.

    She said the clarification became necessary in a bid to clear the air regarding the circumstances leading to the execution of the Nigerian.

    Afolabi was executed alongside two Pakistani men and one Yemeni man, bringing the total number of people killed by Saudi Arabia this year to 53.

    There had been attempts, especially in the social media, to link Afolabi’s fate with the activities of alleged syndicates operating at Malam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano.

    The syndicate allegedly specializes in planting drugs in the baggage of unsuspecting travelers.

    Read Also: Saudi Arabia: due process followed before execution of Nigerian

    Abike-Dabiri, however, said Afolabi did not belong to the list of seven who are suspected to have fallen victim of the four-man gang hard drugs planting syndicate.

    “There are some people caught in Kano, but those they allegedly gave the drugs to are yet to face trials in Saudi.

    “What we can now do is to prevail on the Saudi authority that those people awaiting trials in their country are among the victims of the Kano syndicate.

    “If Nigeria can do this, through National Drugs and Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and the Nigerian mission in Saudi Arabia, they might not even be charged to court.

    “Ms Afolabi was one of those drugs were found on their bodies. They were 20 in number. They are the ones on the death roll, as drugs were found on their bodies, including their private parts.

    “In their case, the Saudis do not appear to waste so much time on them. What is on social media that the lady could have been saved was incorrect.

    “There was no way we could have done that. She was found with drugs on her body; just like the other 20,” the presidential aide said.

    She, however, pointed out that in the case of those awaiting trials, the NDLEA can work with the Nigerian mission in Saudi to save them.

    “Who knows, maybe if the NDLEA forward their information to the Saudis that some of these people might be innocent of the crime, they might not even go on trial.

    “But we must continue to move fast and in harmony, so that we ensure the innocent was not unjustly punished,” she said.

    NAN

  • We followed due process before executing Nigerian woman – Saudi Arabia

    The Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Abuja has maintained that all legal and judicial procedures were followed before the recent execution of a Nigerian woman by the Saudi Arabia authorities over alleged drug related offenses.

    The Federal Government of Nigeria through the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Diaspora, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, had on Tuesday faulted the execution of the Nigerian woman.

    She had described the news of the execution as pathetic, tragic and sad, stressing that some airlines have been working with drug syndicates to put such drugs in the bags of unsuspecting passengers.

    But the embassy, in a statement in Abuja, said that the execution was carried out after all proofs and legal evidence has been exhausted.

    Read Also: Nigerian woman has first child at 67

    The Nigerian woman, it said, was accorded every legal right before the death sentence was carried out on her.

    The statement reads “All accused persons subjected to the legal process in Saudi Courts of Law are allowed access to lawyers to litigate on their behalf, and the Kingdom avails itself the responsibility to provide lawyers for any persons that have no financial ability to do so.

    “All convicted persons on whom the death penalty has been carried out in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have gone through trials characterized by legal guarantee of justice to their case because the Kingdom’s judicial system is established on objectivity and is dependent, in terms of its rules and regulations, on the Islamic Law, which has always restored rights to their owners and done justice to the victims. This is what the Kingdom has always affirmed.

    “The death sentence is only carried out in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia after all proofs and legal evidence have been exhausted regarding the accused, and the process goes through various legal stages until the allegations against the detained persons have been proven beyond reasonable doubt.

    “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is always in consultation with foreign embassies and consulates in the Kingdom, of which are the Nigerian Embassy in Riyadh and Consulate General in Jeddah, and it provides them with all facilitations and information and allows their staff to visit their nationals that are detained vis-à-vis a variety of  charges  as are related to the different stages of their detention and prosecution, and this is allowed every time of their request through normal channels.

    “It is well-known for all those interested in travelling to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia that the penalty for drug trafficking is the death sentence and the said sentence is applied on all persons convicted without any exceptions, as long as the evidence is established against them, and this is conveyed to every person prior to his trip to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

    “The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia does not neglect the enforcement of penalties in terms of matters of drug trafficking and is determined to apply the law on any person against whom evidence is established in order to combat drug trafficking and protect its citizens from this dangerous menace.” it stated