L-R : Dr Segun Aina, Chair, LOC NIDEC, Amb. Abba Zanna, Ag Nigeria High Commissioner to Canada, Dr Olajumoke Oduwole, Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Chairman, NIDCOM, Gov. Dauda Lawal of Zamfara State, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, COS to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Prof. Charles Soludo, Governor of Anambra State during the opening ceremony of the first ever Nigeria Diaspora Economic Conference (NIDEC) 2026 held at Apollo Convention Centre, Toronto, Canada.
President Bola Tinubu has urged Nigerians in the diaspora to channel capital into critical sectors and organise professionally governed investment clubs, sector funds, co-investment vehicles and venture networks, beyond sending money back home.
He gave this charge while declaring open the three-day Nigeria Diaspora Economic Conference (NIDEC) 2026, currently being held at the Apollo Convention Centre in Toronto, Canada.
The first-ever conference of its kind has the theme: “Thrive Abroad, Invest in Nigeria,” organised by Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, chairman/ CEO, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), with her team. The conference aims to deepen engagement with the Nigerian diaspora by harnessing the expertise of the community for national development and accelerated growth.
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The conference was in collaboration with major national and international stakeholders, investors, business moguls, Nigeria diaspora, and government officials to strategise on strengthening economic ties between Nigeria and its diaspora, hoping for more investment opportunities.
Tinubu was represented by Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, chief of staff, who described Nigerians in the diaspora as living proof that the Nigerian spirit can compete with the best in the world.
He said the economic power earns the diaspora a seat and a voice at the conversation table, pointing to diaspora voting as one of the issues that could be influenced once that economic power is established.
“Nigeria sees you. Nigeria values you. Nigeria needs you,” he said.
He also noted that while economic growth, political stability and security remain the primary factors guiding where investors put their money, Nigeria’s indicators point to a country in genuine recovery.
He cited real GDP growth of 3.89 per cent in the first quarter of 2026, manufacturing expansion of 3.29 per cent, inflation easing to 15.91 per cent, and foreign reserves closing 2025 at 45.4 billion US dollars.
Tinubu stressed that the International Monetary Fund has projected Nigeria’s economy to grow by 4.1 per cent in 2026, and credited the reforms of the past three years with improving the country’s macroeconomic outcomes and resilience.
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He affirmed that the World Bank had similarly acknowledged meaningful progress in restoring macroeconomic stability, strengthening Nigeria’s external and fiscal position, and sustaining growth.
On the domestic front, he pointed to a new tax architecture designed to simplify compliance and ease the burden on low-income earners and small businesses, and revealed that the Bank of Industry recorded its highest annual financing volume in 2025, disbursing 636 billion naira to businesses across the country.
Also, he noted the federal government continues to invest in roads, rail, ports, power, digital connectivity, healthcare, housing and agricultural value chains.
In addition, remittances, though invaluable in sustaining millions of Nigerian households through school fees, medical bills and small businesses, must now become the floor of diaspora engagement rather than its ceiling.
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However, he acknowledged that the government owed the diaspora predictable rules, transparent project pipelines, efficient consular services and stronger protection from fraud, noting that instruments such as the Non-Resident Nigerian Ordinary Account, the Non-Resident Nigerian Investment Account and the Non-Resident Bank Verification Number were set up to ease diaspora participation in the Nigerian financial system.
He noted the frustrations many diasporans face abroad, describing an invisible ceiling that limits how far Nigerians can rise in foreign systems no matter their talent, but insisted that no such ceiling exists for those who choose to invest at home, where the sky is the limit.D abiri-Erewa equally urged Nigerians abroad to see Nigeria not only as home, but also as a destination for investment.
Speaking in the same vein, Olajumoke Oduwole, Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, while making a case for direct investment, said that focus must shift from conversations to actual investment,t and the best time for investment is now.
