At last, a Bill to extend the full constitutional right to vote and be voted for to Nigerians in the Diaspora has been laid on the floor of the Senate. Sponsored by Senator Ned Nwoko (PDP Delta North), the Bill which has been mentioned in the media for some time, was unfolded on Tuesday, November 14, 2022.

It seeks the alteration of Sections 48, 49, 71, 72 and 119 of the 1999 Constitution with a view to integrating the huge Nigeria Diaspora population into the mainstream of Nigerian active politics rather than the current situation where they are mere interested spectators.

The Bill also wants the seats in the National Assembly to be expanded from 360 to 376 for the House of Representatives, while the Senate is increased from from 109 to 113. The sponsor believes that the roughly three million Nigerians living offshore Africa deserve 16 seats in the HOR and four seats in the Senate.

Arguing his case for the Bill, Nwoko pointed out that with the world global village getting closer than ever before, Nigeria should not lag behind in the “new wave of electoral reforms” embraced by many countries which seek to link their diaspora constituents directly to their domestic democratic activities.

In the case of Nigeria, our Diasporans have for some time shown their clout as major stakeholders in the economy, and a prized source of scarce foreign exchange inflows. Records have it that $24.3 billion came into the economy from our Diasporans in 2018, while the figure for 2022 is estimated by the World Bank to reach $20.9 after a drop in recent years.

The undesirable aspects of the constitutional insulation of the Nigerian Diaspora from our politics were exhibited when a former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Idris Wase, blocked a petition of Benue State indigenes in the Diaspora protesting against the Federal Government’s consistent failure to protect their people from armed herdsmen attacks.

Wase claimed he blocked the move by Mark Gbillah to present the petition because the petitioners were “faceless and based outside the shores of Nigeria”. Unfortunately, Wase had a ready alibi in the Constitution which treats Nigerians in the Diaspora as though they are aliens.

We give our full support for the passage of this Bill in the next round of Constitution alterations. Our people in the Diaspora are among the most accomplished Nigerians, excelling in every field and getting elected and appointed to high offices in their host countries.

Our lawmakers should give this Constitution amendment bill unfettered support and bring our Diasporans into our electoral basket ahead of 2027. The perspective they will bring to the business of the National Assembly will brighten the doom and despair which rule the perception of Nigerians about their federal parliament.

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