By BONIFACE AKARAH

United States-based Nigerian lawyer and democracy advocate, Emmanuel Ogebe, has decried the continued exclusion of Nigerians living abroad from the country’s electoral process despite their enormous economic contributions, describing them as the nation’s “most politically disenfranchised” citizens.

Speaking during an interview on Channels Television’s “Inside Sources,” Ogebe said the denial of voting rights to Nigerians in the diaspora remains one of the biggest contradictions in the country’s democratic journey, considering their substantial contributions to national development.

“We are the most politically disenfranchised people despite being the most economically advantaged people,” Ogebe said. “We remit $22 billion to Nigeria every year, which is more than what is generated by NNPC. So Nigeria’s greatest value is its people, more than its oil. Yet, we do not have the right to vote.”

He argued that although overseas Nigerians contribute billions of dollars annually through remittances that support families and the economy, they remain excluded from choosing the country’s leaders, a situation he said deserves urgent attention.

“We’ve been denied the vote,” he said. “Our impact might be very limited because we don’t have votes yet, but we continue to contribute immensely to the country.”

Ogebe maintained that granting diaspora voting rights would not only strengthen Nigeria’s democracy but also recognise the vital role millions of Nigerians abroad continue to play in the nation’s economic growth and development.

“Nigeria’s greatest value is its people, more than its oil,” he reiterated. “Yet, we do not have the right to vote.”

The lawyer noted that Nigerians living overseas remain deeply interested in the country’s future despite their exclusion from the electoral process, adding that many continue to participate in national development through investments, advocacy and sustained economic support to relatives and communities back home.

Successive National Assemblies have considered proposals to introduce diaspora voting, but constitutional and legal amendments required to make it a reality have yet to be passed, leaving millions of eligible Nigerian citizens abroad without a voice at the ballot box.