The National Commission For Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI) has commenced a three-day workshop aimed at building the capacity of migrant stakeholders in the North-Central  geographical zone towards the review of the National Migration Policy (2015).

In his welcome address, Tuesday, Aliyu Tijani, Federal Commissioner of the Commission, said the current National Migration Policy (NMP) serving as the comprehensive or overarching framework to address the multifaceted nature of migration in our country had been created in 2015.

“This policy not only acknowledged the complexities of internal migration, urbanization, security concerns, and border management but also highlighted the growing importance of migration issues at the sub-national level. With its five-year lifecycle, the 2015 policy is now overdue for a review,” he said.

He pointed out that emerging challenges and opportunities in the migration landscape, both domestically and internationally, necessitated the integration of these new dynamics into our migration policy. 

“To remain effective and relevant, it is imperative that Nigeria’s Migration Policy is updated to reflect our current priorities and commitments,” he said.

He added that in 2022, the Technical Working Group on Migration and Development (TWG), under the leadership of the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants, and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI), initiated the review process of the National Migration Policy.

He explained that the TWG established a review committee tasked with recruiting a domestic consultant, designing a detailed roadmap for the policy review, overseeing the review process, and reporting back to the TWG.

“The selection of a local consultant is crucial to ensure that the revised policy accurately addresses the unique challenges and priorities of Nigeria.

“A key element of effective policy development and review is comprehensive consultation with relevant stakeholders.

“In alignment with this principle, the Review Committee and the Consultant have adopted a strategy that emphasizes stakeholder engagement,” he added.

He pointed out that to ensure thorough participation from stakeholders at both state and local government levels, the review process includes zonal stakeholder workshops, to be held in the six geopolitical zones hence the workshop in Nasarawa state for the North Central region.

He said central to the workshop participated by stakeholders from Abuja, Nasarawa, Kogi, Kwara, Niger, Plateau and Benue states, are pressing challenges such as the persistent farmer-herder conflicts, the plight of internally displaced persons among others.