THE PUBLIC SPHERE with Chido Nwakanma
In a landmark legal and policy move, Abia State has become the first subnational to domesticate the federal legislation for the involvement of its citizens in the diaspora in state affairs. The Abia Citizens in Diaspora Commission became a parastatal by an Act of the State Assembly on 22 March 2021.
Governor Okezie Ikpeazu and the State House of Assembly’s Speaker have shone in the limelight deservedly, but two women with pluck deserve even more accolades for this happening.
The Abia Citizens in Diaspora Act and Commission reprises the Nigerians in Diaspora Act 2017 and the Commission over which Hon Abike Dabiri presides. It sets out to ensure the protection of Abians in the diaspora and project and facilitate their effective participation in the state’s economic, political, and social development. Its objectives include providing a direct link to the involvement of Abians in the diaspora in the state’s development, exploring the “huge reservoir of skills knowledge and experiences” of Abians abroad for state development and exploring the most attractive and cost-efficient means for capital inflow or remittances, investments, and transfer of technology among others by Abians outside the homeland.
The Abia Citizens in Diaspora Commission will have an Executive Chairman, a Director General, seven ministries’ representatives and Abians in Diaspora in America, Asia, and Europe. It did not mention Africa.
Then there would be persons from the Abia Investment Commission, Human Rights Commission, three serving or retired diplomat. A curiosity is that the Chairman would be Chief Executive Officer with accounting responsibility for the Commission yet serve on part-time basis in the draft bill this correspondent saw.
The Abia State journey to tapping into what PWC calls “strength from abroad: the economic power of Nigeria’s diaspora” began with the Okezie Ikpeazu leadership. He…