Valentine Okafor
Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Dr. Bernard M. Doro, has applauded the Federal Executive Council’s (FEC) adoption of the Revised 2025 National Migration Policy (NMP), describing it as a major milestone in Nigeria’s efforts to build a more coordinated, responsive and people-centred migration governance system.
The policy was formally adopted at the Federal Executive Council meeting held on Wednesday, following an extensive review and consultation process to update the National Migration Policy first adopted in 2015.
In a statement issued on Thursday by Dr. Abimbola Fasanu, Senior Technical Adviser on Information Systems and Data Analysis to the Honourable Minister, Dr. Doro said the approval provides a strengthened national framework for protecting migrants, expanding opportunities for safe and regular migration, supporting return and reintegration, improving migration data and harnessing migration for national development.
The Minister described the approval as particularly significant following Nigeria’s strong participation at the 2026 International Migration Review Forum (IMRF) at the United Nations Headquarters in New York in May.
Dr. Doro, who led the Nigerian delegation to the Forum and served as Co-Chair of Roundtable 3, said Nigeria used the global platform to demonstrate progress in implementing the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM).
“Our participation at the International Migration Review Forum demonstrated Nigeria’s commitments to the world. The adoption of the Revised National Migration Policy brings those commitments home and provides the national framework for translating them into coordinated and measurable action,” the Minister said.
He added that migration policy must ultimately be judged by what it means for Nigerians at home and 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,” Dr. Doro stated.
The Revised National Migration Policy is the product of an extensive whole-of-government and whole-of-society consultation process involving Ministries, Departments and Agencies, State Governments, civil society organisations, academia, international development partners and other stakeholders within Nigeria’s migration ecosystem.
The review process was led by the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI) in its coordinating role for migration management in Nigeria, with participation from relevant government institutions and technical support from the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
The revised Policy and its accompanying Integrated Implementation Plan were formally validated by stakeholders at the Technical Working Group on Migration and Development meeting held in Abuja on 29 April 2025.
The framework is designed to strengthen institutional coordination, respond to emerging migration trends and improve alignment between Nigeria’s national priorities and regional and international migration frameworks, particularly the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration.
Dr. Doro commended the NCFRMI, relevant government institutions, IOM, development partners, civil society and other stakeholders whose years of technical work and consultation culminated in the policy’s adoption.
According to the Minister, the significance of the revised policy extends beyond institutional coordination.
Its implementation is expected to strengthen the protection of Nigerian migrants, expand opportunities for safe, orderly and regular migration, improve support for Nigerians returning home, enhance migration and diaspora data, and strengthen coordination among Federal, State and Local Governments.
It will also provide a clearer framework for maximising the contribution of migration and the Nigerian diaspora to economic and national development while responding more effectively to irregular migration and other emerging challenges.
“The movement of people is a reality of our interconnected world. Our task as Government is not merely to manage movement, but to ensure that migration is safer, better coordinated and capable of contributing positively to the lives of our citizens and the development of our country,” Dr. Doro said.
The Honourable Federal Commissioner of NCFRMI, Dr. Tijani Aliyu Ahmed, also welcomed the FEC decision, describing it as the culmination of years of technical work, consultations and collaboration across Nigeria’s migration governance architecture.
He said the approval provides renewed impetus for coordinated implementation across Federal, State and Local levels and strengthens Nigeria’s capacity to protect migrants and vulnerable populations while maximising the developmental benefits of migration.
With the FEC adoption, attention will now shift from policy development to implementation, monitoring and localisation, ensuring that the framework remains responsive, evidence-based, rights-centred and aligned with national development priorities.
Dr. Doro said the milestone reflects the commitment of the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, to strengthening institutions and ensuring that Nigeria’s international commitments are translated into practical national action.
“This approval is not the end of the process. It is the beginning of the most important phase: implementation.
“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 President 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,” the Minister stated.