Humanitarian minister hails Tinubu for revising Nigeria’s migration policy
The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Dr. Bernard Doro, has commended President Bola Tinubu following the adoption of Nigeria’s Revised 2025 National Migration Policy.
Doro gave the commendation in a statement signed by his Senior Technical Adviser on Information Systems and Data Analysis, Dr Abimbola Fasanu, in Abuja on Friday.
He explained that the Federal Executive Council’s approval updates the previous National migration policy adopted in 2015.
He noted that the new version provides a broader framework for addressing emerging migration realities while maximizing the contribution of migration to national development.
The minister said that the approval marks a significant step by the Tinubu administration toward building a more coordinated, responsive, and people-centered migration governance system.
Doro further described the decision as a major milestone that would translate Nigeria’s international migration commitments into coordinated domestic action.
“The revised policy will strengthen the protection of migrants, expand opportunities for safe and regular migration, support the return and reintegration of Nigerians, improve migration data and harness the potential of migration and the diaspora for national development,” Doro said.
“The policy’s adoption is particularly significant following Nigeria’s participation in the 2026 International Migration Review Forum (IMRF), held at the UN Headquarters in New York in May.
“Nigeria used that global platform to demonstrate its progress in implementing the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM).
“Our participation at the IMRF demonstrated our commitments to the world. The adoption of the revised National Migration Policy, therefore, brings those commitments home and provides the national framework for translating them into coordinated, measurable action,” he said.
According to him, migration governance must ultimately be measured by its tangible impact on Nigerians, whether living at home or abroad.
“Migration should not become a journey into vulnerability. Our responsibility is to build systems that enable Nigerians to migrate safely and regularly, protect those who move, support those who return, and harness migration as a force for national development.”
He further explained that the revised policy emerged from an extensive government and society consultations.
He added that the process involved Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs), state governments, civil society organizations, academia, international development partners, and other stakeholders across Nigeria’s migration ecosystem.
He said that review was coordinated by the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI), with technical support from the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
“The policy and its accompanying Integrated Implementation Plan were officially validated by stakeholders during a meeting of the Technical Working Group on Migration and Development in Abuja on April 29, 2025.
“At its core, the framework seeks to strengthen institutional coordination, respond to emerging migration trends, and align Nigeria’s national priorities with regional and international migration frameworks, particularly the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration.
“Our responsibility now is to ensure that the policy moves beyond paper and becomes a living framework that protects Nigerians, strengthens coordination, creates safer migration pathways, and enables our country to harness migration as an instrument of development.
“Under Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, we will continue working with our agencies, state and local governments, development partners, civil society, and the international community to build a migration governance system that works for Nigeria and for Nigerians wherever they may be.
“We appreciate the NCFRMI, relevant government institutions, the IOM, development partners, civil society organizations, and other stakeholders whose technical contributions and consultations made this policy’s eventual adoption possible,” Doro said.