Nigerians in diaspora demand voting rights, urge National Assembly to act

The Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation (NiDO)-Worldwide has urged the National Assembly to give citizens living abroad opportunity to participate in the electoral process by considering diaspora voting in the ongoing process to review the constitution.

The organisation also appealed to President Bola Tinubu to advance inclusive governance of Nigerians at home and abroad through assent to the Diaspora Voting Bill, when passed.

The Coordinating Chairman of NiDO-Worldwide, Mr Chibuzo Ubochi, made the appeal on the sidelines of the” Walk for Diaspora Voting”, an advocacy programme put together by the organisation on Thursday in Abuja.

According to him, every Nigerian, home and abroad of voting age, should be accorded the right to register and vote during elections.

Ubochi said, “We are Nigerians living abroad. We bear names like Chibuzor, Ibrahim and Ade, eat Nigerian food and run Nigerian businesses wherever we are.

“So, why can’t we vote? We hold our green passport wherever we go and we are proud of our fatherland.

“One important thing from our past leaders in the country is that they support Diaspora Voting, so what is holding them back?

“The National Assembly has yet to legislate it. This is why we are here to tell them to do the right thing.

“We are here to tell them that Nigerians living abroad deserve to be part of electoral process and that should be done now that we are reviewing the constitution.”

Dr Victor Ubani, former Coordinating Chairman of NiDO-Worldwide, underscored the need for President Tinubu to set the pace for the future of Nigeria’s democracy by assenting the Bill when presented to him.

“We are calling on President Tinubu to listen to us. We appeal to the National Assembly to do the needful.

“It is not proper being treated as non-Nigerians. There is no way anyone can tell me that I am a non-Nigerian.

“We are here to work closely with the National Assembly to build our nation to benefit our fatherland,” Ubani said.

Speaking , Chris Juwon Fayomi, Global President, National Association of Nigerian Students in Diaspora (NANS-DIASPORA), commended the Federal Government’s efforts towards sustaining Nigeria’s democracy.

According to him, more could be done to bolster the nation’s democratic progress through inclusion of Nigerians living abroad in the electoral process.

“We have come from across several continents of the world to place demand on government towards legislation of Diaspora Voting.

“This is because no Nigerian will make the most democratic impact in fostering inclusivity of a 17 million population than the one who legislates Diaspora Voting,” Fayomi said.

The road walk, which commenced from the Unity Fountain to the National Assembly gate, was to raise awareness on the importance of Diaspora Voting in the country.

(NAN)