For most of its existence, the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM) has been best known for its rescue operations, from negotiating prisoner transfers to intervening when Nigerians are mistreated abroad, to pushing for repatriation when things go badly for citizens overseas. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, who has chaired the commission since 2018, has built a reputation on exactly that work. In Toronto last week, she added an entirely different dimension.
NiDCOM organised the first Nigeria Diaspora Economic Conference, NiDEC 2026, across three days and two venues in Ontario, drawing investors, government officials, fintech leaders, state governors, and members of the Nigerian-Canadian community under the theme “Invest Nigeria; Thrive Abroad.” It was the commission’s most explicitly economic undertaking to date.
President Bola Tinubu, represented by Chief of Staff Femi Gbajabiamila, told the gathering that remittances, while valuable, must become the floor of diaspora engagement rather than its ceiling. The argument was that Nigeria’s economic indicators now justify the confidence that investment requires, as seen with a GDP growth of 3.89 per cent in the first quarter of 2026, inflation easing to 15.91 per cent, foreign reserves at $45.4 billion at the close of 2025, and an IMF projection of 4.1 per cent growth for the full year.
